Intercession
by LizzeXX
Summary: 11/OC -Time Lady- If the second-to-last thing the Doctor expected in the Byzantium was for someone to fall through a crack in time, and not just anyone, a Time Lady, then the absolute last thing he expected was for them to share a very powerful but forbidden connection. Can he handle the Ambassador's refusal of him as well as the danger of the cracks? First in the Emissary Reports.
1. Flesh and Stone

A/N: Surprise! So I felt so bad for being so off with posting my stories and updating recently while also realizing that I hadn't posted a new OC for Doctor Who in over a year(! and that just wouldn't do, would it? ;)) that I wanted to surprise you all with a new OC! :D TL5 for anyone that's followed her sneak peeks and teasers on tumblr ;) This story is called Intercession (we'll see why as the story goes) and it is the first story in my sixth OC series for Doctor Who (for any new readers, the other series are 1. The Academic Series (the Professor), 2. The Lunar Cycle (Evy Daniels), 3. The Heart of Time Saga (the Angel), 4. The Time Lady Memoirs (Mac), 5. The Gallifreyan Sacraments (the Judge) if you're interested ;)) and will involve a new OC/Time Lady. I decided to call this series the 'Emissary Reports' due to the OC's title, which we'll see very soon ;)

This story will largely follow the events the OC or the Doctor are aware of and will be updated when I can find time to edit the chapters as it will be updated around about 3 other DW stories (2 of which are AUs) and 3 other show/movie stories (Lord of the Rings, Big Bang Theory, and Once Upon a Time) too so updating will be slow. Each episode will be 2 chapters except for this first one as it starts a good way through the episode. The specials, however, will be 3 chapters but a few of the mini-sodes/prequels will be 1 chapter each as well :) This will be a Doctor/OC story.

I can't give a physical description of the OC just yet, she hasn't been previously introduced but we'll see her very soon and an added helpful visual will be added to the end of the chapter of an actress that I think is similar in appearance to how I see the OC being ;)

~8~ is a scene break.  
" _italics_ " is Gallifreyan  
' _italics_ ' is mental communication between Time Lords

Disclaimer #1...I do not own Doctor Who, or maybe some episodes would be just a tiny bit less convoluted and make more sense.

Disclaimer #2...My OC is in no way related to any others that may share the same title.

Enjoy!

~8~

Flesh and Stone

The Doctor stood, staring at the white light of the crack in the wall, glaring at him blindingly from above the door in the Byzantium, big enough that energy was pouring out of it, nearly blinding them all. Oh this had been one surprise and danger after another, from River's message on the Home Box, to the Weeping Angels, to this. He was getting too old for this, but he couldn't even stop, not now. He had managed to get a basic path out of the ship through the forest behind them, he just had to work out a way to stop the Weeping Angel army from strengthening, get all the humans out safely, close the crack in this new wall, and then he could go back to the TARDIS and have a very strong cup of tea while he pondered what on earth was going wrong in the universe this time that the cracks were even appearing.

"We're not leaving without you!" River shouted.

He nearly sighed at that, if only the others would leave him to his business in trying to shut the crack before him so that the rather clear energy pouring out of it wouldn't spread too far, "Yes you are. Bishop?"

Bishop Octavian nodded behind him, "Miss Pond, Dr. Song, now!"

River huffed but grabbed Amy's hand, hauling her towards the robotic forest despite her protests.

The Doctor waited till he was alone to look at the crack, stepping closer to it, flashing it with the sonic, "So, what are you?" he glanced at the reading, frowning at it, "Oh, that's bad. Ah, that's extremely very not good," he moved closer, turning his ear to the wall, trying to listen for anything on the other side, much like he had when Prisoner Zero's cell had been there.

If Zero could escape from a crack as small as Amy's wall had been, there was no telling what might come through this bigger one.

He tensed, hearing a whooshing noise behind him and turned, nearly jumping back when he saw he was now surrounded by Weeping Angels.

"Do not blink," he murmured to himself, carefully climbing over the control console before him, doing his best to keep all the Angels insight till he'd passed them, making a break for the forest…only for one to grab him by the collar of his jacket but do nothing else, "Why am I not dead then?"

He glanced over his shoulder to see that all the other Angels besides the one holding him, were standing closer to the light, their arms raised, almost like they were trying to absorb it.

"Good, and not so good. Oh, this isn't even a little bit good. I mean, is that it? Is that the power that brought you here? That's pure time energy, you can't feed on that. That's the power, that's the fire at the end of the universe…"

Just as the words left his mouth, the light flared up, making his eyes widen as he saw a distinct red blur fly right out of it, landing on the ground with a thump and an 'oomph.'

He would not say he gaped like a fish so much as stared in shock when the blur leapt to its feet, a rather large gun clutched to its chest, not even hesitating to fire…right at the Weeping Angels, actually managing to break piece off of them before it ran past them. He blinked as the blur moved behind the Angels, now seeing them all changing position to grabbing various parts of their bodies in agony at having been blown apart.

He winced as a blast flew at him, cutting the Angel holding him in half, breaking off its arm in the process. You might not be able to kill a stone, but you could chip away at it, break it to pieces.

"Run!" the blur called and he realized, despite how muffled it was by the helmet it wore, that it was a female voice.

He had little time to think more on that before his arm was being grabbed and he was being yanked out into the forest at breakneck speed, half stumbling as he was jerked along by the person ahead of him, his jacket remaining behind in the firm grip of the Angel.

"Hold on, hold on!" he pulled his arm back, "Stop!"

"Are you mad!?" the person rounded on him, "We have to GO! If the Daleks and the Weeping Angels have joined forces…"

"Daleks?" the Doctor shook his head, "There aren't any Daleks here."

"Yes, there are!" the woman insisted, "I was JUST fighting them!"

It was then that the Doctor noticed something rather important about the woman standing before him. Her outfit.

One wouldn't normally think that necessary to observe, but when he saw exactly what it was, his hearts stopped.

It was a red jumpsuit with black straps over it, thick with padding. There were black gloves over her hands, black belts, black boots. Her head and face were covered by a red helmet, a mouth guard clasped over it, with black goggles over her eyes, the gun clutched expertly in her hands.

It was the Gallifreyan Military garb that he had seen numerous soldiers wearing during the Last Great Time War.

It was the uniform of the soldiers of the front line.

"The war…" he swallowed hard, "You were facing the Daleks in the war."

"Yes," the woman huffed, not even bothering to ask what war, for it was clear where she had just come from her point of view, and she likely assumed he was a Time Lord just by his knowledge of it even if she hadn't taken a moment to sense him as such just yet, "They cornered me, opened fire. I ducked to the side to avoid a blast and fell back only to find myself surrounded by angels and…" she paused, as though the situation had caught up to her as well.

He watched her stiffen and look around her, her body language radiating confusion before she reached up and pulled her helmet and protections off so she could see clearer where they were, a forest, a forest that was nothing like anything on Gallifrey, for it wasn't ON Gallifrey.

He got a good look at her as she stared around them, her hair was a light red, not quite in the realm of blonde though, her eyes more blue than green in their greenish color, her skin pale, but everything was matted down with sweat and dirt smears. She let the garb hang around her neck as she turned in a slow circle, taking in the location.

"Where are…" she breathed, shaken by something he couldn't see, before turning to him, lifting her gun, "What happened!?"

He could see it then, the tears in her eyes, and he knew she'd realized it, she'd FELT it, the emptiness in her mind, the lack of the buzz and connection to their people and planet. To have come from the middle of the chaos of war, the jumble of their people in her head, to the stillness of now, the quiet, she would notice, she'd feel it, she would feel how he was the only one left besides herself.

"I'm…I'm sorry," was all he could offer, his hands up, "The war's been over for…for more than a century," at least, it had been for him.

"I was JUST there!"

"I know, I know," he nodded, "There are…there have been these cracks in time," he shook his head, "I don't know how or why, but they're appearing and…and I think you've fallen through one, from then and there to here and now."

"That's impossible," her expression hardened in a desperation he knew well, a hope that he was wrong, that it was a lie, that they HADN'T so clearly lost the war.

"It's really not," he whispered, "I'm sorry. It's…it's gone, Gallifrey, it's all gone."

"We lost," she slowly lowered her gun, seeming struggling to cope with that sudden knowledge, to go from the middle of the fight to it being over and the loss of their efforts.

"Everyone did," he swallowed hard, "The Daleks too."

"They're gone?"

He winced at the thin hope in her voice, that if the Daleks were eliminated then maybe it hadn't been entirely worthless, "Not all of them."

The woman closed her eyes at that, his hearts breaking to see the utter devastation on her face.

"I'm sorry."

The woman shook her head, as though trying to shake off the pain, the realization that they'd lost, that everything they'd worked for was for _nothing_.

"How?" her voice cracked as she looked at him.

"It's a long story…"

"Tell me," she demanded.

"I can't," he sighed, "I…my friend," he glanced into the woods, "She was hurt, by the Angels, they're attacking her from inside her own mind. I need to help her and I can't…" this time his voice cracked, "I'll tell you all you want to know, but I have to help her first," the woman was silent, "Please."

She glanced into the woods in the direction he'd looked and back from where she'd come, "Help your friend," she swallowed, turning back to him, "If even one life can be saved this night…"

It wouldn't make anything else worth it, but it would make the sting of the loss just the smallest fraction less, to know she hadn't kept him from saving someone's life.

"Thank you," he offered her a smile, nodding his head to the side and starting to walk off at a hurried pace, the woman following him in silence. His mind raced as he tried to think of something to say to her, but he couldn't. What did you say to someone who had just found out that their entire planet was gone in the blink of an eye when not moments ago they had been standing on that very planet in the middle of very alive people?

"…in the room, your only mission is to keep him alive long enough to get everyone else home," he looked up, hearing River speaking just a few feet ahead, "And trust me. It's not easy. Now, if he's dead back there, I'll never forgive myself, and if he's alive, I'll never forgive him. And, Doctor, you're standing right behind me, aren't you?"

"Oh yeah," the Doctor smiled, spotting them at the bottom of a hill and hurrying down it, towards Amy, who was curled up on a rock, not seeming to notice how the woman following him had paused at River's address to him.

"I hate you!" River snapped, turning her head to glare at him, only for her eyes to shoot past where he was making his way down the hill and over to the woman frowning down at him from above it.

"You don't," the Doctor waved her off, kneeling beside Amy, "Bishop, the Angels are in the forest."

"We need visual contact on every line of approach," Octavian turned to his men.

"How did you get past them?" River glanced between the Doctor and the woman, now making her way down the hill at a slower pace.

"I fired," the woman answered, holding up her gun, "Can't stop them, but you can destroy parts of them. You're the Doctor?" she looked at him.

"Yes," he flashed Amy with the sonic, "Sorry," he glanced at her, "You are?"

"Um…the Ambassador," the woman stated, River's eyes going impossibly wide at that.

"Sadie?" she breathed, staring at the woman as though she was smacking herself for not recognizing her.

The Ambassador gave her an odd look for that, "The Ambassador."

"Right, yes," River shook her head, "Sorry…" she looked over sharply when the Doctor plucked the med-scanner in her hands out of it to use on Amy.

"What's wrong with me?" Amy whimpered, too worried about herself to ask about the new woman standing there.

"Nothing," River rushed to sooth, "You're fine."

"She's clearly dying," the Ambassador stated, rubbing her head at the high pitched beeping of the scanner indicating things were very much NOT alright, "I can't believe you're the Doctor."

The Doctor glanced back at her, "You're rather fixated on that, aren't you?"

"It's just…" she shook her head, eyeing him, thinking about the stories, the rumors about him on Gallifrey. She'd never met the man before, but he was quite infamous among their people, not many were mad enough or odd enough to steal a TARDIS and flee the planet, not many would want to abandon their people so easily, "I thought you'd be taller?"

"Oi!" he stood up, looking down at her slightly from his inch or so height over her, "I'll have you know, I'm quite tall for the average human."

"And short for the average Time Lord," she quipped back, though it didn't hold a teasing note to her voice. She sounded more tired and overwhelmed than anything.

"Doctor…" Amy tugged on his sleeve.

"Busy," the Doctor muttered, spinning around to focus on her again.

"Scared!"

"Course, you're dying, shut up!"

"Ok," River shook herself out of her thoughts, "Let him think…"

"Amy," the Doctor sighed, no needing to think, he'd worked it out in the time he'd taken to pause, to let his mind drift to the fact there was another Time Lord there, a Time Lady. With that brief respite, his thoughts had caught up to the situation, to work out what had happened to Amy, "There's an Angel in your mind. You looked at it too long and it crawled inside your head, it's hiding in the vision center of your brain."

"Three," Amy breathed.

"Three?" the Ambassador looked between the Doctor and River for that, not understanding.

"The Angel," River offered, "It's been making her count."

The Ambassador nodded, starting to tug off one of her gloves with her teeth and kneel down before Amy, "Nothing's more frightening than a ticking clock," she muttered, reaching out a hand to place on Amy's not just in comfort, but to block her eyeline, "If it's in your vision, cut the vision off."

The Doctor blinked at that, "That is brilliant!" he shouted, "Amy, close your eyes."

"No," Amy shook her head, reaching out her hand to try and desperately pull the Ambassador's hands away from her face, "I don't want to."

"Good, because that's not you, that's the Angel inside you, it's afraid!" the Doctor reassured her, "Do it! Close your eyes!"

There was a single hesitant moment, River's med-scanner going crazy…before it evened out, turning green instead of flashing red.

The Ambassador glanced at the Doctor a moment, before pulling her hand away from Amy's face to see the girl had indeed closed her eyes.

"She's normalizing," River sighed, smiling at the Ambassador in thanks, "You did it! You did it!" she glanced over as more calls came in from the Clerics about the Angels, quickly looking at the scanner's reading, "Still weak, dangerous to move her."

Amy sat up, the Doctor reaching out to help her, wincing, "So, can I open my eyes now?"

"If you do, you'll just be restoring your vision," the Ambassador shook her head even though Amy couldn't see it, "It would defeat the purpose of closing your eyes in the first place."

"The Angel is still inside you," the Doctor agreed, "We haven't stopped it, we've just sort of...paused it. You've used up your countdown. You cannot open your eyes."

"Doctor," a man in uniform called, older than the others, the one in charge the Ambassador thought, heading over to them, "We're too exposed here. We have to move on."

The Doctor stood up, looking around with a sigh, "We're exposed everywhere, and Amy can't move, and anyway, that's not the plan."

"There's a plan?" both the Ambassador and River spoke as one, glancing at each other. River seemed to be smiling widely at that, moving to sit by Amy, though the Ambassador just appeared confused why River seemed so pleased by all of this.

"I don't know yet," the Doctor admitted, "I haven't finished talking," though a split moment later he whirled around to face them, "Right! Father, you and your Clerics will stay here, look after Amy. If anything happens to her, I'll hold each of you personally responsible, twice. River, you, me, and Sadie here…"

"The Ambassador," she reiterated, not sure why two people she'd never met before were so insistent to cut her name down. It was a respectable title, it deserved its entirety.

"We're going to find the Primary Flight Deck," the Doctor continued as if she hadn't spoken, earning a huff from her, "Which is..." he licked his finger and held it up, "A quarter mile straight ahead. We'll stabilize the wreckage, stop the Angels, and cure Amy."

"How?" River voiced all their concerns.

"I'll do a thing."

"What thing?"

"I don't know, it's a thing in progress. Respect the thing. Moving out!"

"Doctor!" the Ambassador huffed, striding forward to grab his hand to stop him…

And the world vanished.

To anyone else, it seemed like the Doctor and the Ambassador froze in their actions, completely stopped, the Doctor spinning around but not letting go of the woman's hand as he stared down at it, matching her shocked expression. The Ambassador, on the other hand, seemed almost horrified, her breathing picking up as her eyes locked on their joined hands.

River, however, was looking between the two with a barely repressed grin, her eyes sparkling as though realizing something momentous was happening and she was going to be able to witness it.

To the Time Lords however…things were much different.

The second the Ambassador's hand touched his, the moment their skin brushed against each other, it was like an overwhelming heat flared to life, shooting up their arms and filling them to the brink of bursting. It was like they were being burned from the inside out with the most…delicious sense of completion following in its wake. Their hearts were hammering in their chests, their lungs feeling as though they couldn't breathe in enough air, like the air around them wasn't the right combination to allow it, their minds blanked out. The world completely faded away, the forest, the Angels, even Amy's dangerous state of being, all of it disappeared, leaving them feeling as though they were truly the only two in existence, like there was a fog surrounding them, blocking out the rest of the world and encapsulating just the two of them.

There was a tug just above their navel, a compulsion that was pulsing through them, as though a thousand tiny strings were surging out from each of them, connecting between them and coiling closer together.

 _And it felt wonderful_.

It felt beyond magnificent, it felt divine, the heat, the warmth spreading through them, it was sending surges of the most pleasant feelings crashing over them.

The Doctor's hand tightened its hold on the Ambassador's, his eyes nearly drifting shut at the sensation, craving more of it…

When the Ambassador pulled her hand away violently, clutching it to her chest in her other gloved hand, panting as she stumbled back away from him, starting at him with too-wide eyes, eyes full of an emotion the very opposite of what they'd just been feeling.

"What is it?" Amy's voice broke through the silence that had fallen over them, sounding nearly deafeningly loud to the Time Lords as they came back to themselves.

No one could answer, not the Clerics who hadn't really been paying attention, focused on the Angels, not Octavian who genuinely didn't know, not River for all her love of Spoilers, nor the Time Lords.

Because what they had just experienced?

It couldn't be described.

The Ambassador closed her eyes as that thought hit her, it SHOULDN'T be described, it shouldn't have happened, it couldn't happen, not like this, not now, not ever. Their people…

"Don't…" the Doctor breathed, as though sensing a shift in her thoughts, a genuine fear in his voice as she took another step back.

He didn't care about the connection, what it meant, what their people would think of it. The Time Lords were gone, they weren't there to judge anyone for holding such a connection. And now, having experienced it himself, realizing the whispers of how such a connection felt were true, he wanted to feel it again. Everything he'd thought was wrong, everything he'd been told about it were so, so wrong.

Because something that felt so right couldn't be as horrible as his people made it out to be.

But he could see the Ambassador clearly was of the view of their people. He didn't blame her, she had come from right in the middle of the war, she hadn't had centuries around humans and their ideals. She hadn't experienced the universe the way he had, she WOULD think it as ill an omen as their people would. And he didn't want that, he didn't want her to see it as a curse it was so often called on their planet. He truly didn't care, because here before him was the last Time Lady in the universe, and the gods had seen fit to grant him a connection to her as strong and unbreakable as the one he'd just felt spring between them.

He didn't want her to run from it, like he could see she was preparing to do.

He held up his hands when he saw her look at him, stepping back instead, a silent promise that he would keep his distance, the only thing he could think to do at the moment that might give him a hope of keeping her around till they could talk. She couldn't, he wouldn't let her, run into the forest with the Angels out there, not now.

The Ambassador swallowed hard, giving him the briefest, smallest of nods, though she appeared deeply shaken by what had just happened, going so far as to frantically pull her glove back on her bare hand.

"Are you alright?" River reached out to the woman, seeming startled at how the Ambassador had reacted to just touching the Doctor, seeming almost confused by it.

"Fine," the Ambassador spoke, a little more harshly and snappishly than she intended, but she took a deep breath, "The flight deck?"

"Yes," the Doctor nodded, seeming more subdued and calm than any had seen him…despite the fact that calm was the LAST emotion he was feeling, not when his body was still tingling and his heart was still racing from just the Ambassador's touch.

"I'm coming with you," Octavian stepped forward, thankfully cutting into some of the growing tension, "My Clerics can look after Miss Pond. These are my best men, they'd lay down their lives in her protection."

The Doctor, in a tone that made Amy jump and flinch to hear, snapped, "We don't need you."

River didn't seem alarmed by the complete 180 the man had done in personality, though the Ambassador looked away, guilt in her eyes.

The Doctor forced his closed, taking a deep breath as he rubbed a hand over his eyes, pushing down the tingling feeling, the overwhelming urge to keep Octavian and the other Clerics away from the Ambassador that had reared up in him without warning. It was an aftereffect of the connection forming, he knew it, he should have anticipated a reaction like that, but it snuck up on him. He could tell the sheer venom and chill in his voice had affected the Ambassador as well and he couldn't have that, because he knew, even without knowing the woman in question, that she would take it as a sign of the strength of the connection, how vehemently he had reacted just after it formed…and she clearly didn't want it to be that strong.

Octavian, to his credit, didn't seem fazed at all, "I don't care. Where Dr. Song goes, I go."

"What?" the Doctor looked between them, another sort of emotion waving through him, "You two engaged or something?"

It was hope, he realized, he was hoping the man would say yes. Because that snarling feeling that was still aching in his chest at the thought of Octavian being near the Ambassador…it was calming at the prospect that the man was taken, that he would be…less a threat.

"Yes, in a manner of speaking," Octavian confirmed, "Marco, you're in charge till I get back."

"Sir!" one of the Clerics called in agreement as Octavian began to leave with River, who had waited till the Ambassador started to walk off with them first.

"Doctor..." the Doctor winced as he turned to follow the group, his expression revealing to River that he had quite likely actually forgotten Amy was there, "Please, can't I come with you?

"You're in no state to walk through the woods," the Ambassador spoke quietly, clearing her throat, "We'll take twice as long with you around."

Amy frowned when, a moment later, the Doctor didn't defend her or agree that she should go with them, instead feeling him move closer and say, "You'll be safer here. We can't protect you on the move. I'll be back for you soon as I can. I promise."

"You always say that," she muttered.

"I always come back," he straightened, looking over at the Ambassador standing with River, before his gaze turned to the Clerics, seeming almost as though he was forcing himself to look away, "Good luck everyone. Behave. Do not let that girl open her eyes. And keep watching the forest. Stop those Angels advancing. Amy, later!" he tapped her on the head and started to walk off, "River, going to need your computer."

"Sadie's already got to it," River remarked, glancing at the Ambassador who was fiddling with the small scanner, the girl having looked like she desperately needed something to distract herself with, a mission of some sort.

"The Ambassador," she muttered, "Honestly, NOT that hard to say."

"It IS rather a mouthful," the Doctor remarked, trying to lighten the tension as they stepped through the brush and into the woods, leaving Amy and the Clerics behind.

The Ambassador just ignored that, focusing on the scanner and its directions towards the flight deck.

The Doctor seemed about to comment on it, when his sonic started to beep, causing him to pull it out and look at it with a deep frown.

"What is it?" River hesitated, not sure she wanted to know what was making him that concerned.

"Readings from a crack in a wall," he muttered, "From the end of the universe."

River shook her head, "How can a crack in a wall be the end of the universe?"

"Here's what I think. One day there'll be a very big bang, so big every moment in history, past and future, will crack."

"Is that possible?" she looked between the two Time Lords.

"Before today, I would have said no," the Ambassador remarked, focused on the directions, her gun clutched in one arm as they moved. Before today, she would have thought it impossible for cracks like that to exist at all…and then she'd fallen through one.

"How?"

"How can you be engaged in a manner of speaking?" the Doctor tried to change the subject, not wanting to say he didn't quite know, not wanting to draw the likely possibility that it was something he might do in the future that would cause it. That would NOT help his case with the Ambassador.

"Well...sucker for a man in uniform," River smirked, clearly teasing.

Octavian was not in the teasing mood however, "Dr. Song is in my personal custody. I released her from the Stormcage Containment Facility four days ago and I am legally responsible for her until she has accomplished her mission and earned her pardon. Just so we understand each other."

While the Ambassador didn't seem remotely interested, the Doctor paused at that, looking at River, alarmed, "You were in Stormcage?"

River didn't answer, looking down at the sonic as it beeped again, "What is that?"

"The date," the Doctor's eyes widened as he looked at the sonic once more, "The date of the explosion where the crack begins."

"And for those of us who can't read the base code of the universe?"

"The 26th of June, 2010," the Ambassador answered, glancing over at the sonic, doing her best to see it without needing to lean over the Doctor's arm to do so.

"The 26th of June?" River's lips pursed at that, almost as though the date were familiar to her.

"Amy's time," the Doctor frowned, not liking the sound of that. In fact, he could distinctly remember that he'd picked up Amy on the 25th of June that same year, the fact that the date was so close to that one…it was leaving him feeling very uncomfortable.

He couldn't help his gaze flittering to the Ambassador, fearful of her thoughts, of how this might color her view of him, but found her not even looking at the sonic or him, more focused on the scanner in her hand, her gaze flickering to the forest ahead of them, the flight deck now in view.

Without looking back the Ambassador tossed the scanner back to River, moving to follow Octavian as he tried to open a hatch on the outside of the deck, the gun now firmly held in her hand as she took the role of guard. Something twisted inside of the Doctor at seeing that, a mix of jealousy and anger, that the woman was so keen to guard another man (which was ridiculous, Octavian was a good man and he deserved to be protected when his back was turned) and also that she seemed alright handling such a weapon.

The war had been over for him for more than a century now, but he had to remind himself that the woman before him had literally come from the middle of a warzone, you couldn't just turn off reactions or instinct like that. He had held his fair share of guns during his time in the war, it had taken him half a century to get himself back to a place where he didn't immediately reach for a gun or weapon of some sort when he was startled.

"Hurry up and open it," River's voice cut through his thoughts, her words directed at Octavian as he himself had gone rather lost in thought, "Time's running out."

The Doctor shook his head at the words, "What? What did you say? Time's running out, is that what you said?"

River blinked, "Yeah. I just meant..."

"I know what you meant. Hush! But what if it could?"

"What if what could?"

"Time. What if time could run out?"

"It can," the Ambassador looked over at him, speaking to HIM in what felt like the first time in a lifetime to the Doctor, nearly sending his hearts skipping a beat at the sound, "It does. The universe is not infinite, it will end one day, you know this."

She was giving him a look as though she couldn't fathom why he seemed to think time was limitless. Time was, in fact, finite, it was limited from the time the universe began to when it ended. For a Time Lord, or any time traveler perhaps, it could be seen as infinite. One could keep travelling back in time to different places in the universe over and over in so many ways that it could go on forever. But time, in general, was running out all the time.

He opened his mouth to explain what he was talking about, the exact manner he meant that time was running out, when Octavian spoke, "Got it!"

The Doctor whirled around, still taking despite Octavian's interruption, "Cracks in time, time running out," he stepped closer to the Ambassador, who tensed as he drew nearer.

But she frowned, trying to understand what he was saying because clearly it had nothing to do with actual time running out, "Time…running out of the cracks?" she supplied.

"Yes!" his eyes widened, pointing at her in excitement for helping him phrase what his mind was rushing to put words to.

"Dr. Song, get through, now," Octavian called, ushering River through the hatch, "Ambassador?"

The Ambassador looked from the Doctor to Octavian and back, before shaking her head and following River into the hatch, crawling through the small space with some difficulty due to her gun, but managed to make it out the other side.

She huffed as she got to her feet, feeling more winded than she had right to, but everything was catching up to her now, the adrenaline from the battle she'd just been in wearing off, the empty pit in her stomach from the knowledge her planet was gone and having no time to grieve for it or the people on it, the threat of the Angels surrounding them, and…and what had happened with the Doctor. It was just too much. She just wanted this to be over!

She looked up, hesitating to enter the room further when she saw River smiling at her softly, "What?"

"Nothing," River tried to focus back on her work where she seemed to be examining wires and the controls of the deck, "I'm just…" she glanced back at her, "I'm really glad you're here, Sadie."

"Why do you keep calling me that?" she shook her head, stepping over to rest her gun on one of the flat surfaces, moving to a secondary control unit to see if she could help get this dealt with sooner.

River hummed, "That was how you introduced yourself to me."

The Ambassador frowned, "I wouldn't. I never have."

"What?" River laughed, seeming to find it ironic, "2 incarnations hardly means anything when it comes to 'nevers.'"

"How do you know that?" she demanded, tensing at how much River knew about her. This was only her second incarnation, yes, that was true, but…HOW had she known?"

River's expression just grew terribly sad and guilty, "Spoilers."

"Am I in a different incarnation then?" the Ambassador wouldn't let go of that, striding over to River, clearly the woman was familiar with her, knew HER even though they had never met, so she was a time traveler of some sort, "Did you meet the next me or something? You seemed shocked that you hadn't recognized me earlier than you did. The way you looked at me…"

"Spoilers," River repeated, "But…" she hesitated, eyeing the woman before her, "That wasn't the reason I didn't recognize you," her gaze trailed over her face, her body, the armor around her, "You look different now. I'm not used to seeing you like this," she gestured to the soldier's garb, "You're normally a lot cleaner," she added with a tease, her eye flickering to the dark smudges and sweat and matting on the visible parts of the Ambassador's face, "And you usually smell much better too," she wrinkled her nose for added effect.

The Ambassador opened her mouth, not quite sure how to respond to that, when the hatch banged shut behind her, causing her to spin around to see the Doctor rushing in, sonicing the hatch closed behind him…

"The Bishop?" the Ambassador frowned, seeing the man was alone.

"Dead," the Doctor swallowed hard at that, guilt written across his face.

River's expression grew grim and serious at that, getting right to business, "There's a teleport," she informed him, "If I can get it to work, we can beam the others here."

"The teleport won't work," he shook his head, striding over, though making sure to keep on the other side of River, placing the woman between himself and the Ambassador, "You're wasting your time. I'm going to need your communicator," he plucked the small scanner/communicator up and soniced it.

"Hello?" Amy's voice came through, "Hello? Please say you're there. Hello? Hello!"

The Ambassador watched the Doctor's expression for a moment before glancing at River, seeing a determination and drive in her eye as she worked on the controls of the teleport. She looked around the room, seeing a line running from the control panel to the teleport area right in the back and turned to go examine it. The tech wasn't familiar to her, but teleports seemed to all operate on the same basic principles and if it was even remotely close to the ones used on Gallifrey than it should be easy enough to help fix the teleporter while River worked on its controls.

She tried to keep focused on the task at hand instead of the Doctor growing more frantic behind her the longer he spoke with the ginger girl, Amy if she remembered correctly. Apparently the Clerics had all been absorbed by the time energy that, it appeared really was, running out of the crack in the wall she'd fallen through. They'd all been erased from time. He had instructed Amy to walk to the Primary Flight Deck, upgrading her comm. unit by sonicing a detection software into it, a sonic whirr to lead her towards the deck and a beeping to warn her when Angels were around her.

She looked up, tensing as she heard a whooshing and an eerie noise above them, the Angels surrounding them most likely. They were the only other things in the forest besides Amy.

"That time energy," she glanced back, hearing River speaking quietly with the Doctor and forced herself to look away as a small stabbing sprung up in her chest which she violently pushed away from her thoughts at what that could mean, focusing on her work, but she could still hear them, "What's it going to do?"

"Keep eating," the Doctor muttered.

"How do we stop it?"

"Feed it."

"Feed it what?"

"A big complicated space-time event should shut it up for a while."

"Like what, for instance?"

"Like me, for instance!" the Doctor's snapping, however, couldn't be ignored.

The Ambassador found herself on her feet from where she'd been crouching down and spinning to face him, seeing that a part of his volume came from him ripping his arm away from where River had tried to grab him, "Or me," she added, striding over, "I fell out of the crack, I could be just enough to close it if I go back in."

"No," the Doctor said, with such finality and assumed authority that she very nearly slapped him for it, as though he had _any_ say in what she did with her own life.

But before she could make a single move against him, Amy was back on the comm. and he'd turned away from her to speak to the girl.

The Ambassador let out a very irritated huff that seemed to greatly amuse River, before she stomped her way back to the teleporter, a muffled 'Get back to work' thrown over her shoulder at River. Judging from the way the Doctor was growing more tense and loud as he spoke to Amy, the girl was walking right into terrible danger and for all her anger at the Doctor and all her crippling feelings involving the entire situation, she didn't want another life to be lost tonight. Her entire planet was gone, all the people were dead, _no more_.

"Sadie!" River shouted as Amy's voice began to echo through the room, starting to get more frantic and frightened as she tripped and fell, losing the comm. that had been guiding her.

The Ambassador was silent about the shortening of her name, was silent two seconds more, before sparks shout out of the wire she had jammed into a port on the teleporter, "Now!" she called and River hit a button, a blinding flash of white light filling the room, Amy appearing within it and remaining there as the light faded.

"Don't open your eyes," River rushed to Amy's side, grabbing her arms as the girl stumbled, having been teleported there, "You're on the Flight Deck, the Doctor and Sadie are here…"

"The Ambassador!" she nearly snapped at that.

But River ignored her, "We teleported you," she shot a look at the Doctor, "See? Told you I could get it working."

"You only managed because Sadie was helping you," he pouted.

"The…oh I give up," the Ambassador grumbled, standing to turn and face them, not at all happy with this familiarity the two of them kept forcing on her. She didn't know either of them from a hole in the wall and she was getting a mite peeved at how they kept calling her 'Sadie' so informally.

The Doctor, however, seemed to finally notice her irritation and turned, his mouth opening in what might have been an apology, but before a sound could leave him, alarms began to blare around them.

"What's that?" River looked up.

The Doctor ran over to one of the control panels, reading the statistics before the screens began to flicker and short out, "The Angels are draining the last of the ship's power, which means... the shield's going to release!" he hopped over a bit of debris and moved to stand before a wall as it slowly opened to reveal the forest, a line of Angels, seeming never-ending, standing before them, a handful of them with missing limbs, "Angel Bob, I presume."

The Ambassador frowned at that, following his line of sight to one statue in particular that was holding a comm. of its own. She looked over at River, mouthing 'Angel BOB?' to her in confusion. River could only roll her eyes with a nod to the Doctor as though it were meant to be all the explanation she needed.

"The Time Field is coming," a voice spoke over the comm. in the Doctor's hand, drawing the Ambassador's attention to that as well, her frown deepening at hearing an Angel actually speaking, her face quickly paling and turning green as she realized how that would be possible, "It will destroy our reality."

"Yeah, and look at you, all running away," the Doctor taunted, "What can I do for you?"

"There is a rupture in time. The Angels calculate that if you throw the outlier into it, it will close and they will be saved."

"The…outlier?" the Doctor frowned.

"The one that fell from the rupture."

The Doctor's entire posture changed at that, growing tense and rigid, his grip on the comm. tightening so much River was actually concerned he might break it from the force of his hold, "No."

The Ambassador tensed at the sound of his voice, swearing there was almost a faint growl to his word, and looked down with a hard swallow. This shouldn't be happening, the connection shouldn't be this powerful, not so soon…

"Your friends would also be saved," the Angel added, as though the afterthought would help the Doctor take action.

"I've traveled in time," River stepped forward before the Doctor, whose expression had become quite deadly, could speak, "I'm a complicated space-time event, too. Throw me in."

"Compared to someone that traveled through it?" the Ambassador shook her head, "None of you, not even him," she gestured at the Doctor, "Are as complicated."

"No," the Doctor agreed, seeming to have to force himself not to look over his shoulder at her, "But…" he took a breath, "Compared to you, these Angels are more complicated."

The Ambassador frowned at that, "It would take all of them to amount to me and my travel through the crack."

"Yes," the Doctor nodded, as though a switch had flipped inside his head, "It _would_."

River looked between the Doctor and the Angels, tensing herself now as she heard the far too-calm tone of his voice, "Doctor…"

"River…" the Doctor cut in, "Hold onto something."

River's eyes widened at that and she turned quickly to grab Amy's hands, forcing them down on a small railing jutting out of one of the control panels.

"Sir, the Angels need you to sacrifice the outlier now," the Angel cut in.

The Ambassador frowned, looking between the Doctor and the Angels as the man stood before them, a chuckle leaving him that seemed very…dark, "Thing is, Bob," the man spoke, an easiness in his voice that alarmed her, "The Angels are draining all the power from this ship, every last bit of it. And you know what? I think they've forgotten where they're standing. I think they've forgotten the gravity of the situation. Or to put it another way, Angels...night-night."

The Ambassador gasped as the man turned and casually grabbed onto one of the railings as well just as the gravity finally gave out with the power and the deck turned on its side, as though they were all hanging from the top of a chasm that the crack was at the bottom of. The Angels began to fall backwards into the light…

But so was she!

She turned, struggling to grab onto something, realizing too late what was happening, too distracted by the contradicting changes in the Doctor's temperament, and just missed one of the handles by a hair. She could feel herself falling backwards towards the crack, noticing, in an oddly out-of-body moment that her gun had been sucked down moments before her, lost to the abyss…and taking a final breath to seal her fate…

When a hand reached out and grabbed her by her gloved hand.

Her gaze snapped up to see the Doctor had let go of one hand to grab her, holding onto the bar with the other. He was staring into her eyes, his own wide, as she looked back…holding each other gazes till a blinding white light flashed from the crack as it snapped shut and the power resumed now that the Angels had stopped depleting it.

The gravity kicked back on in an instant, all four of them falling flat to the floor with pained grunts.

The Ambassador quickly pulled her hand out of the Doctor's hold, even with her glove on, not wanting to be in his hold too long, "You shouldn't have done that," she panted, still shaken from her near fall back into the crack, knowing it wouldn't have led back to the war but to a nothingness of being un-born, "I should have been the one thrown to the crack."

"It wouldn't have helped," the Doctor argued lightly, "It would have closed and left us to still deal with an army of Angels," he observed her, reaching out to her but pulling his hand back just as quickly, "It was strategic," he told her, though the tone of his voice…it didn't quite match the matter-of-fact way he'd intended to say it in.

The Ambassador shook her head, "No, it wasn't," she swallowed hard, glancing over at River helping Amy up and trying to convince the girl to open her eyes, "And you know it," she added quietly before pushing herself up to go help River lead Amy out of the deck, the girl seeming to refuse to open her eyes.

The Doctor watched her walk away for a moment before he closed his eyes…she was right. He could say it was strategic all he wanted, he could use it as a reasonable excuse to anyone else, but the Ambassador of all people would know it had nothing to do with strategy at all and everything to do with her and their newfound connection.

~8~

The Ambassador stood in the console room of the TARDIS, staring up at the rotor as the Doctor dealt with River Song on the beach just outside the doors. The moment they had set foot on the beach outside of the shuttle crash they'd been trapped in, the moment she'd seen a TARDIS sitting there (and why did it look like a blue phonebox? HOW was THAT blending in?) she had given the Doctor a single questioning glance, only for him to gesture her to it, and rushed into it.

She just…she needed a moment. She needed a moment away from crashes and humans and clerics and reports and River and…and the Doctor. She just…she needed something familiar, something that still existed from her home planet. She need a moment to breathe, to just…stop. She hadn't stopped doing anything since the war began, running missions and organizing treaties and visiting planets and then the front lines…she hadn't stopped fighting for her planet since the war began and now…it was gone.

There was nothing left and she just…she needed a moment to pretend it wasn't so.

She closed her eyes, taking a deep breath, before they snapped open, blinking furiously to keep her tears at bay when she heard the doors opening behind her. It appeared she'd been lost in her silent, blank thoughts longer than she realized if the Doctor and Amy were already entering.

"I want to go home," Amy was saying.

The Doctor was silent for only a moment before sighing, "Ok."

Amy snorted, "No, not like that! I just…I just want to show you something. You're running from River. I'm running too."

"Oh?" the Doctor spoke, trying to sound interested when he caught sight of the Ambassador standing at the console, "Amy, could you go get me another jacket first?" he asked her, gesturing at his upper body, sorely lacking a tweed jacket. His first one had been caught in the grip of an Angel and he'd been half struggling out of it when the Ambassador had appeared and grabbed his arm to rush him away.

"Sure," Amy shrugged, "From the wardrobe?"

He nodded, gesturing her off, waiting till she had passed the Ambassador, casting the woman an odd glance on her way, before he made his way up to her as well. He waited till Amy was out of the room completely before he released the breath he felt like he'd been holding in all that time.

He glanced down, seeing her hand, ungloved, absently resting on one of the controls, the woman completely rigid beside him. He hesitated a moment before reaching down to place his hand on hers…only for her to quickly pull it away, shuffling a few paces away from him.

"Don't do that," she swallowed hard.

"Sadie…"

"I am _the Ambassador_ ," she cut in, her voice firm.

"Sorry," he held up his hands in surrender, "Sorry, Ambassador…" he took a breath, trying to pick his words, "We're…"

"Nothing," she forced out before he could continue, "We are strangers."

He shook his head, stepping towards her, but she stepped back, "How can you say that?"

"Because it's _true_ ," she insisted, "There is…there is nothing between us. We are not…"

"We are," he nodded, not wanting her to deny what the connection between them would make them, "We're…"

" _Don't_ say it," she snapped, tears in her eyes, not wanting to hear him say the word, give the name of their connection, it was a forbidden word, never to be spoken, "I'm married," she told him, wishing with all her hearts that they didn't feel like cracking just from seeing the flash of pain that flashed across his face at her words, as though her having a husband should have an impact in his life at all, and wasn't that just unfair a reaction because... "And if I recall, you are too."

"I was," he whispered, "She died. Along with the children."

The Ambassador was quiet at that, "And Gallifrey is gone," she looked away, "My husband is gone too."

"I'm sorry," he winced, opening his mouth to say more, the words choking in his throat to have to tell her HE was the reason Gallifrey was gone, knowing it would only earn him her hatred for the act, hatred that it was HIS fault her husband was lost, and feeling fear seize his heart, stilling his words, catching in his throat as he struggled to force them out.

"He died just after they got the sky trenches up," she told him.

And the vice around his hearts released, that was…that wasn't the end of the war. Close to it, but not…not a result of his actions. That had happened before Arcadia had fallen, before he'd even made the conscious decision to go after the Moment, to end the war.

"I'm sorry," he repeated.

"As am I," she murmured, both for her own loss and his. She closed her eyes tightly, "I will not betray him, or his memory," she added, sounding almost as though she were making the promise to herself instead of warning him, both might have been true, "And even if I weren't married, we can NOT," she forced her eyes open to look him in his own, "You know it's forbidden."

"Gallifrey is gone," he began gently, hearing an almost disgust in her voice, an anger aimed at herself for even having the connection with him that she did. The last thing he wanted was for her to feel that way towards herself, if he could just make her see it wasn't as terrible a thing as she was making it out to be, that would be enough for now, "The laws…"

"It's not about the law and you know it," her expression grew hard, "What…what we felt. It…" she shook her head, struggling to even mention it, it was just...taboo, it was something NOT talked about on Gallifrey, "It's not…"

"There's no one to judge us…"

"There is nothing to judge!" she snapped, "I don't know you, you don't know me. You can't base anything on…on that sort of connection. It means _nothing_."

It was such a lie, they could both feel it hanging in the air. It meant so much more than either of them were willing to admit.

The Doctor nodded, however, stepping back slightly, his hands up again, "You're right," he admitted softly.

And she was, he really _didn't_ know her, he knew absolutely nothing about her save she fought on the frontlines, that she had been married, that her title was 'the Ambassador.' He didn't even know her true name, he didn't know her past, her fears or dreams, her favorite color, her age, what incarnation she was on…he knew nothing. And she was terrified of the connection, she was ready to run, he could just tell it, he could almost smell it in the air, she was like a small kitten being cornered and was ready to fight or flee.

And he didn't want either.

He wanted the exact opposite.

But it wouldn't do to push, it wouldn't do to force the issue. And he didn't want to. Yes, the connection they shared seemed to mean more to him than her, and he didn't blame her for that. He understood how she viewed it, he didn't fault her for it. If he wanted to get to know her, and gods did he, he needed her to stay, and for her to do that, to feel comfortable enough around him...he needed to keep his distance. He needed to get a hold of himself, show her he could respect her boundaries and feelings on the matter, that he wanted to know HER for her and not the connection even if their connection was what had sparked that desire.

"Will…" he swallowed, "Will you stay?" he offered, but she looked away, "I've searched," he told her, "For…for others, for other Time Lords, other TARDISes, anyone. There was…there was one but he…" he looked away now, tears in his eyes as he remembered the death of the Master, "It's…it's just us, just us and this TARDIS left," he could see her hesitating at that knowledge, made sure he opened up as much of his mental barriers as he could so she'd sense the truth off him, that he wasn't trying to manipulate her. As much as he wanted the connection they had, _she_ didn't, and he would respect that as much as he could, "If you want to go, that's…that's fine. I'll do all I can to help you find somewhere to go, somewhere safe. But…you could stay. You could stay here. The…the TARDIS is infinite, you could stay here and have your own room, or…or wing, you wouldn't ever have to run into me if you didn't want to. I'd leave you alone if you want. I just…" he sniffled a little, feeling the emotions of everything overwhelming him now, of coming so close to having another of his species back and possibly losing them because of his own weakness and lack of restraint, he hadn't made a good impression on her at all, "I don't want to lose anyone else."

The Ambassador looked at him a long moment, seeing the sincerity in his face, the promise in his voice. She…she wasn't sure how she felt, she didn't want to be there, she had been sure of it before she'd stepped into the box. But…it felt like home there. It was the last bit of home in existence really...

"I don't know, I...I need time," was all she could offer, "It's too much. Right now, it's just…it's too much."

"I understand," he nodded, forcing a small smile, "Take all the time you need," the smile became a little more genuine, "We're Time Lords, after all, we have nothing but time."

It managed to gain the smallest crack of a smile on her face as well…

"This one alright, Doctor?"

The Doctor had never wanted to curse as much as he had when Amy chose _that_ moment to enter the room, a tweed jacket almost identical to his last on in her hands, "Yes, yes," he sighed, "That should do fine," he stepped up to take it from Amy, putting it on as his eyes drifted to the Ambassador again, "Um, the TARDIS can show you to…to a room to stay in for now, a shower if you want one, and…and a wardrobe," he stepped towards her, just a single step, and nearly sagged in relief when she didn't step back, "Feel free to anything, clothes, food, _anything_."

The Ambassador nodded slowly at that, stepping back and turning to walk out of the hall, cursing under her breath as she had to force herself not to look back at the Doctor, feeling his eyes on her until she disappeared out of sight.

~8~

To say the Doctor was distracted as he sat beside Amy on the edge of her bed in her actual bedroom on earth, absently glancing up at the wedding dress hanging from her wardrobe door, would be an understatement. Currently, he was doing his best to pay attention to Amy while simultaneously fighting off his desire to look back at the TARDIS doors, as though he expected the Ambassador to try and sneak out of them while his back was turned despite her saying she would stay for now.

It wasn't a promise to stay, but it was a promise to consider it, and he would take what he could get.

"This is the same night we left, yeah?" Amy asked, shifting in her seat as the Doctor was unnaturally quiet despite the rather large shock she must have given him with the dress.

The Doctor shook himself from his thoughts and glanced at his watch, "We've been gone five minutes."

Amy nodded, turning to pick up a ring box off of her bedside counter, showing him her engagement ring, "I'm getting married in the morning."

The Doctor frowned as he took the box, looking at the ring inside, feeling something uncomfortable settle in his chest at the idea of marriage after his talk with the Ambassador about their past spouses, trying to push the knowledge that he would actually have to explain to the Ambassador WHY Gallifrey was actually gone very soon. Call him selfish, but he just...he just wanted the smallest bit of time around another of his species, where they didn't judge him or look at him as though he really were the monster he felt he was for what he'd done. He just...he just wanted a little more time before he had to effectively ruin everything and crush his own small gleam of hope.

"Why did you leave it here?" he wondered.

"Why did I leave my engagement ring when I ran away with a strange man the night before my wedding?" Amy scoffed, but the Doctor just gave her an expectant look, "You really are an alien, aren't you?"

The Doctor blinked at that, not sure what to make of it, and handed her the box back, "Who's the lucky fella?"

"You met him."

He struggled to think about that, to think about the men in Amy's life…actually, he was finding it hard to think about men in general, a gnawing feeling rummaging through his chest at the thought of other men being around. Not around Amy, no but around…

He shook himself, it was not his right to think that way.

"The good looking one or the other one?" he asked, miming a large nose, that boy Rory, trying to make himself seem normal again.

"The other one," Amy gave him an almost offended look.

"Well, he was good too," he honestly wasn't sure if he should be saying that. If the other one was taken, that meant the 'good looking one' wasn't and what if he was around the next time he and the Ambassador dropped onto Earth and…

Stop it, he tried to shake himself out of that, it was NOT his right.

"Thanks," Amy laughed, not noticing his internal struggle, "So, do you comfort a lot of people on the night before their wedding?"

"Why would you need comforting?"

"I nearly _died_. I was alone in the dark and I nearly died. And it made me think," she gave him a pointed look on the last word, but he just looked confused, "About what I want. About who I want. You know what I mean?" still more confusion, "About _who_..." her look at him could not possibly get more pointed, "I _want_."

"Amelia are you trying to tell me something?" he guessed, the tumbling feelings inside him starting to settle into an uncomfortable pit in his stomach.

Amy rolled her eyes, "Doctor, in a word, n one very simple word even you can understand..."

The Doctor practically jumped off the bed as Amy tried to straddle him.

"You're getting married in the morning!" he cried, stumbling backwards, towards the TARDIS.

Amy just stood with what was surely a sultry grace that did nothing to the Doctor, "The morning's a long time away," she stepped closer to him, half shoving him against the corner of the TARDIS, "What are we going to do about that?" she slipped her hand under the shoulder of his jacket and began to try and push it off him.

He quickly grabbed it and shrugged it back on, doing his level best to keep his instinctual reaction held back, using an iron will not to lash out at the girl that had literally no idea what had happened between him and the Ambassador just a short while ago and what it meant for him, what it meant for her actions towards him now, how it had changed literally everything in his world with just a mere touch, "Listen to me. I'm 907 years old. Do you understand what that means?" he tried to push her away, his hands on her shoulders.

"It's been awhile?" Amy smirked.

"No," he snapped, taking a deep breath to keep his voice under control, to keep it calm. Amy, for how much older she was now, was still the little girl from 5 minutes ago and he hated yelling at children, "It means I'm 907, and look at me. I don't get older, I just change. You get older. I don't, and this can't ever work."

"Oh, you are sweet, Doctor," she tried to purr, "But I really wasn't suggesting anything quite so...long term."

He winced, hissing in what seemed like physical pain when she reached up to cup his face with her hands and press her lips to his.

"Doctor?" she frowned, pulling away at the sound of it…that was _not_ the normal reaction she got when she kissed people.

The Doctor was nearly shaking as he actually shoved her away from him by a few feet, one of his hands coming up to gingerly touch the side of his face, his eyes closed, his breathing hard, trying to will himself to calm. But even just touching his face…he knew it wouldn't work. Nothing would help except the Ambassador and she would not touch him with a 15 foot pole at the moment. He could wait it out, wait out the reaction his body now had to Amy's touch, but it would be quite a while till his skin felt normal and not like the coldest ice in the universe had been slapped across him.

"What's wrong?" she tried to step towards him.

But he held up his other hand, "Don't," his voice was low, threatening in a way she had never heard from him directed at her.

"Doctor?" she repeated, hesitating now.

He took a few more deep breaths, "You do not kiss anyone but your fiancé when you are getting married!" his voice was less threatening, less harsh, but still rather angry…and quite disappointed, "He deserves better than that."

Amy seemed physically struck by that, "I wasn't…"

"You were," he forced his eyes open, "You're getting married in the morning," he began to chastise her again…when the words struck something else in him, "In the morning," his gaze flickered to the small clock on Amy's bedside, nearly midnight…on the 25th of June.

"What?" Amy shook her head, completely thrown by his change in attitude.

"It's you," he looked at her, trying not to sound accusing or suspicious, "It's all about you. Everything. It's about you," Amy just looked more confused, "I don't know why, I have no idea, but quite possibly the single most important thing in the history of the universe is that I get you sorted out right now," he reached out, seeming about to grab her hand before he thought better of it and changed directions to grab her by her shoulder, "Come on!" he tugged her, spinning as she passed him to push her into the TARDIS.

He glanced back once more, seeing the clock had turned to midnight, now the 26th, and hurried into the box after her, the TARDIS disappearing from the bedroom only a moment later.

A/N: I can say there are quite a few reasons why the Ambassador is so set to deny the connection she feels for the Doctor. We'll see more of it and what the actual connection is in a few chapters, but I can say that a big thing is that...on Gallifrey, the connection is NOT viewed as a good thing :'( There were some hints here as to just what it is and how it affects those parties involved, but I can say...it's just the tip of the iceberg }:) There is also a reason why the Doctor is affected more than the Ambassador, which we'll discover as the story goes ;)

As for the Ambassador, I took what was said about the cracks literally from the Venice episode, if people could escape through certain cracks, through time as well as space, and we also know a little more of where other cracks appear and what's on the other side of them, then it's possible someone from Gallifrey could have fallen through one too. And if the time energy was bleeding out of the one in the Byzantium, maybe it was forcing the crack open wider and wider and could be big enough for a person to fall through, like a Time Lord ;)

We'll be learning a lot more about Sadie, her age, history, husband, life, job, and personality as the story goes, but I hope you like what you've seen so far :) She's going to have a tough time deciding if she wants to stay in the TARDIS (for one reason) or leave and make her own way (for another quite big reason) ;) We'll get more of a look into her thoughts and convictions and fears, her reaction to Gallifrey being gone once things settle down and she's had time to process, as the story goes ;)

This story will probably be updated much slower than the others, but, as they say, slow and steady win the race ;)

To help picture her, I see Sadie as looking something like Emily Blunt ;)


	2. Meanwhile in the TARDIS

Meanwhile in the TARDIS

Amy watched the Doctor with curiosity and a small bit of concern as she leaned against the console of the TARDIS, clearly blocking something he was trying to reach for without actually touching her. She rolled her eyes after his fifth attempt at leaning around her to get to the lever and backing away, before she pushed off the console and stepped away, allowing him to reach it.

"Typical bloke," she muttered, "Straight to fixing his motor."

The Doctor made a noise at that, something like a cross between a snort and a scoff, "I am not a typical bloke," he countered, focusing on the console.

Amy hesitated a moment, eyeing him, frowning at his complete concentration on something that wasn't her, the way he was almost forcing himself to look at the controls as though it would give him something to do besides confront her, "Sorry," she spoke hesitantly, "Did I do something wrong cos I'm getting kind of mixed signals here."

"Mixed signals?" this time he scoffed fully as he turned to face her, a deep frown on his face, "How was me pushing you away and telling you to respect your fiancé 'mixed signals?'"

She rolled her eyes at that, "You turned up in the middle of the night, got me out of my bed in my nightie which you then didn't let me change out of for ages, and took me for a spin in your time machine before deciding to yell at me and look as though I punched you or something?" she crossed her arms, "Not that I'm complaining about the first signals," she smirked, thinking about them, "That was like a great big bat signal in the sky, get your coat off the Doctor is in."

The Doctor shook his head, "No," he stated firmly, "It's not like that. That's not what I'm like."

HAD that been the impression he'd given to Amy? He honestly couldn't remember at the moment. His head was still fuzzy, his stomach still fluttering from the connection that had flared to life when the Ambassador had touched his hand. His hearts were still aching at how adamant she had been to keep her distance from him too. It made it very difficult to focus. Add onto that the way his skin now felt like it was literally crawling from when Amy had tried to kiss him…

Now THAT was mixed signals. His insides felt one way from the Ambassador and his outsides felt another from Amy. One was pleasant, so pleasant, the other…very not pleasant indeed.

"Then what are you like?" Amy eyed him.

"I don't know," he tried to shake himself out of his thoughts.

Right now he had to focus on finding Rory and getting him and Amy back together. As much as he hadn't wanted Octavian to join him and the Ambassador (and River) on their trek through the forest, he wanted Rory there. Because Rory would keep Amy away from him. He really did not want to experience what he had with Amy ever again. And he knew, for Rory to propose to Amy, that he was likely only interested in Amy and the Ambassador would be safe from Rory's (likely nonexistent) wandering eye as well. Yes, he should find Rory, right now, get him there and keep Amy busy.

He had a lot to sort out with the Ambassador as it was.

The absolute last thing he wanted was for the Time Lady to get the wrong impression and think he was with Amy or the he and Amy were some sort of together that she was coming in between.

"Gandalf," he supplied, "I'm a space Gandalf, or the little green one in Star Wars," he made a whirring noise that sounded quite a good deal (if he did say so himself) like a lightsaber as he spun in a small circle, mimicking holding one of them.

"You really are not," Amy snorted, "You are a bloke."

"I'm the Doctor," he stated.

"Every room you walk into you laugh at all the men and show off to all the girls."

"Do not."

"What about Rory?"

"Yes, Rory," the Doctor nodded, spinning around to the controls once more, not seeing Amy's flash of disappointment as he turned his back on her again, "We should go find Rory."

"What, so you can show off more?" Amy tried to tease, moving to lean on the side of the console, just a breath away from his hands as they jerked away from her, "You are a bloke and you don't know it," she reached out and grabbed his arm, turning him to face her, "Lucky I am here to help," she leaned in, trying to kiss him, a hand moving to his cheek…

"Stop that!" the Doctor's voice was nearly booming as he jerked out of her hold, stepping back as far from her as he could, "You do not do that again, Amelia Pond."

Amy frowned at that, "You're all frowny face now," she sighed, trying to play it off. She wasn't sure if she was annoyed at his continued disinterest or concerned with his rather volatile reactions to her attempts.

"That is the LAST thing you are here for," the Doctor warned her, "And if you…"

"Then why AM I here?" Amy nearly shouted, unable to reconcile the very different signals she was getting from him.

"...ever try that again," the Doctor continued, ignoring her interruption, his voice growing louder, "I will not hesitate to bring you back to Leadworth and leave you there."

Amy shot him a glare, "Why?!" she yelled, "YOU were the one that took ME away in your time machine! You were the one that came back for me! And you're just going to kick me out because I tried to snog you?!"

The Doctor's eyes narrowed in return, "Yes!"

Amy fell silent at that admission.

"Everything alright?" a voice called out from the side.

The Doctor and Amy's head snapped over to look at the Ambassador as she slowly made her way down the steps from the hall and into the console room.

The Doctor noticed, second, that she had managed to clean up and find some new clothing. Her face was scrubbed clean, her light-red hair hanging freely around her head, revealing it's length and style. It was short, brushing just a little past her shoulders, straighter than he thought it would be with just the ends starting to curl. A part divided her hair right down the middle, though the hair itself appeared layered just slightly, creating something of a face frame around her chin till it reached her shoulders. She was just a little paler than he'd originally thought she was, it appeared a little of her skin tone had been due to the grime, dirt, and sweat from her soldier's uniform (something he was very glad to see she was no longer wearing.

She had changed into a new outfit, a piece or two he recognized from the wardrobe. It was a black turtle-necked jumper, made of a thin breathable fabric, over which hung a blue-green frock coat. It reminded him a little of the pink coat Romana had once worn, but seemed a fair deal more modern than hers had been, darker, bringing out the Ambassador's eyes and contrasting with her hair in a stunning combination. Her pants were a dark blue, a jean-like quality to them. He could see only up to the knee where the rest was hidden in black boots with no heel, laces in the front of them. Hanging from her neck on a long chain was a little pendant he knew was not from the wardrobe, but something that must have been the Ambassador's own, hidden from his view earlier by her uniform. It looked like a sort of earth-style locket, oval in shape, but appearing to be made out of a dark stone instead of some sort of metal.

He found himself looking away from the necklace, recognizing what the locket-like object was, and at the rest of her attire. His hearts beat painfully in his chest when he noticed another addition to her outfit. Gloves. Not as bulky or padded as her uniform had been, a more feminine one, like one might see of humans when the weather was just starting to chill, also in black, making them stand out against the color of the coat.

He honestly had no qualms about the dark colors she was wearing, how somber they felt against the eye, but the gloves…those broke his hearts. Because he knew the only reason she would be wearing it, the only reason she would be so covered up that the only part of her visible was her face, was because he'd pushed her too much, tried to touch her, brush his hand against her skin too much. This was her way of preventing him from managing to try and strengthen their connection. It only worked skin-to-skin during the early stages.

He swallowed hard, for as much as he stared at her clothing choices, that was only the second thing he noticed. The first was how the breath left him just at the sound of her voice, how his entire body felt like sagging in relief of having her back just within sight and hearing of him. He noticed first how instantly he reacted to her just being there, how it calmed him from his rather…pointless fight with Amy. He hadn't been entirely truthful, he likely wouldn't kick her out of the TARDIS, it was just…the connection affecting him, like it had been ever since it formed.

He needed to control it better, for both his sake and Amy's. And if he had any hope of getting the Ambassador to change her obvious views on it, or even to get her to stay, he needed to be better, more in control. He needed to show her it wasn't affecting him as negatively as she thought it would.

He hadn't done a great job of that so far.

"Yes," he let out a small breath, "Everything's fine."

The Ambassador frowned, "Really?" she crossed her arms, "It sounded to me more like hostile negotiations."

The Doctor cracked a smile at that, "Well…"

"What is SHE doing here?" Amy looked at the Doctor, a frown on her face, "I thought we were just giving her a lift, but she's stealing your clothes now?"

"The TARDIS's clothes," the Doctor countered, frowning at Amy. He understood she was cross with him but that was no reason to be rude to the Ambassador, "And she's here because I invited her to stay."

"Trying to replace me already?" Amy bit out harshly.

"With that attitude, it would be more an upgrade," the Ambassador stated, frowning at Amy as well. She had literally had a hand in saving the girl's life and this was the reaction she got for it?

"Hey!" Amy snapped at her, glaring.

"Why ARE you so fond of humans, Doctor?" the Ambassador ignored her to look at the Doctor seeming genuinely curious. It was something well known on Gallifrey, that the Doctor meddled and often took on human companions. It was not something widely viewed as a credit to his character to choose another, rather primitive species, over his own. It was a view she had to say she shared, if Amy was an example of them, why would he put up with them?

"They are actually a decent folk," the Doctor defended weakly, sighing as he looked at Amy, already feeling more at ease now that he wasn't alone with her, "Amy…this is the Ambassador," he introduced, realizing now that Amy likely hadn't actually been able to make heads or tails of what had happened in the Forest, for the most part her eyes had been shut. She'd gotten a glance or two of the Ambassador, but not enough to really connect who and what she was, "A Time Lady."

THAT was enough to have Amy backing off, her eyes wide as she looked at the woman stood before her, still on the stairs, "A…Time Lady?" she frowned, glancing at the Doctor, "But you said you…"

"Yes," he cut in with a wince, "I know what I said, but…she's here."

"How?"

"I fell through a crack in the universe apparently," the Ambassador sighed, stepping off the steps finally and moving closer to them.

"And…she's staying here?" Amy asked the Doctor.

"For now," the Doctor admitted begrudgingly, hoping he sounded more accepting than he felt about the situation.

"I just need time," the Ambassador added, "To process what's happened. That the war's over, that the planet is…" she trailed off, closing her eyes in pain at the memory, though the Doctor could see her trying to hold it in now that she was before a human, "I may leave," she continued, opening her eyes, "I may stay. I don't know yet. It's all so confusing, it's happened so fast and I…" she shook her head, taking a forced breath, "I don't know."

Amy nodded slowly at that, "I'm sorry," she offered the woman after a moment, "For snapping at you. It's…it's been a long day."

The Ambassador nodded at that, even as she sensed Amy wasn't fully apologizing for everything or entirely sincere, but she didn't want to argue right now, she just wanted to have a moment to think. There were things that had to be discussed with the Doctor, and she didn't want Amy hanging around to interrupt or overhear.

"You're um, welcome to stay," Amy added with another glance at the Doctor before she focused on the woman, "Don't let me be what makes you leave."

The Ambassador frowned at that, the way it was phrased was odd and, in her profession, she needed to notice these things. How people phrased things were often very important to determining if trickery was at hand. Amy had told her not to let her be the thing that made her leave. Surely it was meant to be a reassurance to the Doctor, an offer that she would try not to upset her, to make amends for him. But to HER…it just sounded like Amy thought she was already going to leave, but it would have to be for another reason than Amy herself.

"I won't," the Ambassador stated.

"Good," the Doctor clapped a bit, pleased they were getting along now, "I…I hope you'll stay," he told the Ambassador, "It's been far too long since a Time Lady traveled in this old box."

Amy's head whipped around to look at him, "What, she's not the first Time Lady?" she frowned, "Hold on, does that mean I'm not the first human?! Doctor!"

"Yeah," the Doctor nodded, not sure why that was always such a shock to companions. He was over 900 years old, did they really expect he'd been alone that entire time? "I've had loads of friends, you know chums, pals, mates, buddies, not mates forget mates."

Amy hummed at that, a sly look coming to her face, "And out of all those friends, how many would you say, just out of curiosity, were girls?"

The Doctor scratched the side of his face, nervous, something the Ambassador seemed to notice when he glanced at her for Amy's words, "Some of them I suppose…must have been…"

"Some?" Amy crossed her arms, a feeling tugging at her stomach, not entirely sure why she was doing this, saying this, acting like this. She didn't want to know, honestly, she really didn't. But…at the same time, if she didn't want to know she wasn't the first, perhaps the Time Lady wouldn't either. If she thought there were more than just her in the Doctor's life, if she thought she wasn't all that special (even after the war), maybe she'd be less inclined to stay. Maybe she'd think they were both just the latest in a long line of 'friends' to join him.

"It's hard to tell, it's a gray area…"

"Romana," the Ambassador stated, "That's one," the Doctor looked at her sharply, "It was no secret among Gallifrey that you required a babysitter."

"I did not need a babysitter!" he huffed.

"Under half, over half?" Amy tried to wheedle out of him.

The Doctor fidgeted in place, quite stuck with what he should answer. He could lie, he could make it seem like it really hadn't been as many as it had…but at the same time, he could tell that both Amy and the Ambassador would likely see through him. He didn't want to start off any sort of friendship with the Ambassador with a lie. That would worsen her first impression of him greatly.

"Probably?" he shrugged, "Slightly…little bit over?"

"Hmm, young?" Amy gave a flirt smile.

"Everyone is young compared to a Time Lord," the Ambassador looked at him, confused, not seeming to understand why the girl seemed so set to ask these questions. She had literally been getting cross at the thought of someone else being in the TARDIS just moments ago and now she was so keen to learn about all the others before her?

"I suppose," Amy waved that off easily, focusing on the Doctor, "Hot?"

He nearly clinched at the last word, "No."

The firmness of his answer nearly startled Amy, causing her attention to truly snap over to him from where it had been wandering in her quest to tease the answers out of him. She couldn't help the sting that shot through her when she saw him glance at the Ambassador quickly before he looked away. The Ambassador, however, seemed almost disappointed in his answer.

But that wasn't right, was it?

WHY would the woman be disappointed none of his past companions were attractive?

WHY did she actually care that the Ambassador looked disappointed? The last thing she wanted was to see the woman have any sort of reaction to the news. Because if the woman had looked even as remotely jealous as Amy felt, wouldn't that be a sign that there was something between the Doctor and the Ambassador? That the Time Lady felt something for him?

She wasn't blind, nor was she stupid, her job as a kiss-o-gram gave her a lot of insight into other people, especially when they fancied someone. She'd thought the Doctor fancied her, perhaps she had been blinded by her own desire in that case. But she could see _something_ brewing inside the Doctor, and it had to do with the new Time Lady. It was in the way he looked at her, the way his attention was drawn to her, the way he kept trying to check her reactions, like he was worried what she thought more than anyone else.

She could recognize growing attraction when she saw it, so shouldn't she be pleased the Ambassador seemed quite standoffish against the Doctor?

"I don't believe you," Amy called, feeling a desperation to draw his attention back to her, "This big old machine must have some kind of visual records…"

"No," the Doctor spoke again, though his voice was less defensive and snappish and offended than his last use of the word, "And anyway they're voice locked."

"Oh, voice locked," Amy smirked, glancing at the Ambassador, "So I would just have to say 'show me all visual records of previous TARDIS inhabitants?'"

"No," he shook his head, "No, no, no, I mean _voice_ locked. _I_ would have to say 'show…"

His words were suddenly cut off by the Ambassador's glove-covered hand pressing against his mouth, making him look at her with impossibly wide eyes, his body tense and frozen at the action. It almost appeared as though he were holding his breath too, not daring to make a move lest it jar the Time Lady into removing her hand.

His efforts failed though, for a moment later she pulled her hand away anyway, the woman looking to the side and the floor a moment, as though chastising herself for doing that. The Doctor though couldn't help the soft smile that came over his face, feeling the stinging chill of where Amy had touched him earlier fading, replaced by a gentle warmth. It wasn't anywhere near what he would have felt if the Ambassador had not been wearing gloves, but he could feel the warmth of her hand through it and that was enough to sooth him.

"Clever trap," the Ambassador called to Amy, forcing herself to look at the girl instead of the floor, if only to frown at her, "But it is not your right to trick memories out of a Time Lord."

They had so many and, given that a majority of the Doctor's past acquaintances were human, she doubted all of them were good or had died of mere old age.

It was not right to let Amy, or anyone, trick something the Doctor clearly did not want to discuss or think on out of him. They were HIS memories to share when and if he wished.

"Oi!" the Doctor rounded on Amy, a frown on his face as well, disappointed in her for her trick…and in himself for falling for it so nearly. THIS, this was why he needed to find Rory, to keep Amy's attention off of him, "Right," he shook his head, "That's it. Rory! We're gonna find Rory and we're gonna find him now!"

"Who's Rory?" the Ambassador looked between the two.

Amy offered no definitive answers about that, merely waving the Doctor off with a, "He's at his stag night."

"Stag night?" the Ambassador glanced at the Doctor, not sure what they were talking about. Was it a human thing?

"Party for a groom just before the wedding," the Doctor, thankfully, answered that question, "Rory. Amy's fiancé," he added, "He's at his stag night, of course he is," he mumbled, "Well then," he reached for a lever, "Let's make it a great one!"

The Ambassador nearly slammed into the railing around the console floor as the box jolted violently with takeoff, "Have you never passed your exams?!" she shouted above the noise of the rotor, startled.

The Doctor just sent her a wide grin that was all the answer she need, crying, "Geronimo!" as the box flew off to collect yet another human.

A/N: A little bit of a filler here, but I wanted to show just a little bit more of the Ambassador's style and Amy's reaction/introduction to her. I think with her life on the line, she wasn't paying much attention to who this new person was and genuinely thought she was just someone they were giving a lift to as a fellow survivor. Amy will still have more of a reaction to the Ambassador being a Time Lady once she's actually had time to process what it means, likely if the Ambassador decides to stick around more.

I can say there is a very specific reason the Ambassador chose the outfit she did, not just in how covered up she is that just her face is showing, but a secondary reason we'll see before the story is over ;)

Now here's an interesting question...what will the reaction be to Rory? }:)

And you guys! You made me cry! When I went to check the reviews for the notes section I saw that not only did this story get set for almost 150 alerts, but it has over 100 favorites on just the first chapter! :') I love you all so much you have no idea :'D I really am so glad you seem to be enjoying the story so far :)

Some notes on reviews...

I double checked the first chapter and I don't see any areas where I put 'Angel' instead of 'Ambassador' :/ Is there a specific line? I made sure to find/search all the 'Angel' moments in the chapter and they all appear to be either the Weeping Angels being spoken about/to or Angel Bob himself speaking. If you could point out where I did that (because I could just be reading over it lol) I'll be sure to fix it :)

Oh Sadie will be changing the series in a very unintentionally darker way }:) It's not her fault, she's really going to try to not change things, but the Doctor on the other hand might not make it easy for her };)

Lol, I love the Professor too :) She was my first baby and will always have a special place in my heart :') I can say Sadie's background may end up seeming like a very distant, reversed tale of the Professor in an area or two, but we'll have to wait and see just how that is ;)

Aww thank you! :) I actually did end up published, though it's more a self-published e-book, but I still count it for now :) It's 'Patrapolis' on Amazon (they have a free Kindle App so that people can read ebooks without needing a Kindle) and it's $3.99, by 'Elixabeth Xavier' (which equals to LizzeXX ;))

I'm not a big fan of Twilight either, no worries! I can say it's not quite Imprinting, not in the sense that they become each others' worlds, it's more a connection that can flair to life or fade away but only during key moments ;) We'll find out more about it by, the latest Vincent and the Doctor ;)

Oh I've had Sadie planned for a very, very long time lol :) I think taking time to just edit and post when I can will help keep my plate from feeling too full though, we'll have to wait and see :)

Thank you so much for saying that! :') I really try hard to learn from mistakes or criticisms from prior OCs/series to improve as I go on so hearing that it comes across means so much to me :') We'll find out more about who Sadie is, her life on Gallifrey, very soon. As for how River knows her, how she looks, we may have to wait till Berlin...or even 12(!) to really find out };)

I can say Sadie's fears may be refreshed by Idris }:) The TARDIS is actually quite alarmed, fearful, and concerned about the connection her pilot has to the Ambassador...for slightly selfish reasons, but we'll have to wait till Idris to find out what they are }:)

It was a minor dig to that, but also a few other episodes in SM's era ;) I feel like some just really made no sense at all :/

We'll definitely see Sadie dealing with coming from the middle of a battle to nothing at all :( It'll be hard for her to cope with the sudden loss, even more when she learns the truth of how the planet was destroyed (pre-50th anniversary that is) :( We'll have to wait and see how the Wedding episode might go though ;)

I'm glad you picked up on that! The touching other people thing will be a very big deal for Sadie when she witnesses how he reacts. It IS a consequence of the connection yup. I can say it's not quite on the level of him not being able to touch other people, but it definitely does not feel good for him when he does. There'll be a little more clarity before this particular story is over about how touch feels to the Doctor from when the Ambassador touches him to others, what it actually feels like and what it means ;)

I can say they aren't Mates nope, that's reserved just for Angel ;) I will say that the 'connection' is such a taboo thing on Gallifrey that Time Lords are forbidden to actually speak the name of it (they are only allowed to hear it one time, in a classroom, where they are taught about what it is and that they must avoid it and why). That isn't to say we won't get another name for it, it DOES have translations in other languages, and it will come up what the closest earth-name for it is in just a few chapters ;)


	3. The Vampires of Venice (Part One)

A/N: I'm back baby! Woo! :D I'm going to keep this A/N short and just let you know there may be quite a doozy of a note at the end, but I'll be talking about why it took me a while to get back, my plans for updating going forward, and a few small little things :D

~8~

The Vampires of Venice (Part One)

The Ambassador stood in the TARDIS, next to the console as she observed the latest addition to the box, a young man with light brown hair, wearing a red shirt that had a picture of Amy and himself in a heart on the front, and a vest. The poor lad was staring at the TARDIS with wide eyes.

All the Doctor had really left him with was 'this is the TARDIS, she's a beaut!' before he disappeared below the main level to sit in a harness and play with some wiring. Amy, to her credit, was at least pacing the top levels, looking at Rory warily. She could tell the young woman was nervous, but she wasn't sure she could feel bad for the woman. Before the Doctor had stepped out to go get Rory, he'd said something about how a man deserved to know when his fiancé was trying to kiss people behind his back.

Well, now she knew exactly what she'd interrupted before.

She brutally shoved the small sting that shot through her at the knowledge to the side, burying it down. She had no right to feel it, she had no desire to feel it, and she did not, at all, want to feel anything like that ever again, especially not for the Doctor. Because she knew exactly what caused it, the blasted connection that had risen between them.

The Ambassador moved to lean against the console, glancing down at the Doctor when a spark flared below her.

"The life out there, it dazzles," he was saying, "I mean, it blinds you to the things that are important. I've seen it devour relationships and plans..." another small explosion went off, "Ohhh! It's meant to do that."

"I'm fairly certain it is not," the Ambassador called down to him before glancing over at the humans, "It's not."

"I figured," Rory muttered, cautiously stepping further inside.

"B _e_ cause for one person to have seen all that," the Doctor continued, having waved off their concern, "To taste the glory and then go back, it WILL tear you apart. So...I'm sending you somewhere. Together."

"Whoa," Amy came rushing down from the top level, "What like a date?"

"Anywhere you want, any time you want," the Doctor agreed, hopping out of his harness to walk up the steps to the console. He faltered slightly when he saw the Ambassador subtly make her way to the other side, literally putting the console in between them. He cleared his throat and forced a smile, "One condition," he spun on his heel to face Amy, "It has to be amazing!" and then spun to face Rory, "The Moulin Rouge in 1890! The first Olympic Games! Think of it as a wedding present, because, frankly, it's either this or tokens," his smile grew a little more normal as he stepped closer to the still stunned man, "It's a lot to take in, isn't it? Tiny box, huge room inside. What's that about? Let me explain."

"It's another dimension," Rory stated.

The Ambassador blinked and leaned around the console to look at the human, "How could you _possibly_ know that?"

The Doctor spun around to face the human as well, actually appearing thrown that Rory had guessed it right.

Rory shrugged at the sight of both of them looking at him, "After Prisoner Zero, I've been reading up on all the latest scientific theories; FTL travel, parallel universes."

"Prisoner Zero?" the Ambassador turned to give them all a questioning look.

"Yes, he too escaped from a crack in space and time, got into Amy's spare bedroom, had a bit of a run in with the Atraxi," the Doctor explained quickly, "But, not to worry! We sorted that all out. Well, most of it sorted. I love the bit where people say 'it's bigger on the inside.'"

The Ambassador shook her head and slowly moved around the console and over to Rory, "You're Rory?"

He nodded, "Rory Williams," before he held out his hand to her.

The Ambassador glanced down, hesitating for only a brief moment before she shook his hand, "The Ambassador."

Rory blinked, " _The_ Ambassador? What, like the Doctor?"

"Yes!" the Doctor cheered, taking the opportunity to move closer to the Ambassador with her somewhat distracted by Rory, "Exactly like that."

"Time Lady," the Ambassador offered, stepping to the side to put a little more space between her and the Time Lord.

Rory frowned at that, glancing at Amy, "But you said there weren't any Time Lords left," he half heartedly accused Amy.

It wasn't like he was angry about that. Far from it. After being told his fiancé had tried to kiss the Doctor he was…well…thrilled…that there was another Time Lord, a Time Lady, around. A part of him, though, was a little miffed that she'd lied to him about that.

"Well I didn't know she existed when I told you that," Amy groused, not seeming as happy about Rory with the new development.

"Then…how…" Rory pointed between the Doctor and Ambassador.

The Ambassador rubbed her head, "Like he said, I fell through a crack in time too."

Rory blinked and nodded, "Right."

"Isn't it brilliant?" the Doctor beamed at that.

The Ambassador gave him a look, opening her mouth about to tell him, from her perspective, it was not all that brilliant to go from the middle of a war where they still might have had some sort of chance to win to the aftermath where their people had lost…when Amy cut in.

"So, this date," Amy moved over to them, not seeming eager to hear the Doctor spout his excitement even more, "I'm kind of done with running down corridors. What do you think, Rory?"

The Doctor snapped his fingers and pointed at her, "How about somewhere...romantic?"

The Ambassador glanced at Amy as the Doctor rushed to the console to set the coordinates, "So it's true then?" she asked the human, "He really DOES get into that much trouble?"

Amy groaned, "You don't know the half of it."

As though in answer to the Ambassador's question, the TARDIS began to buck and jerk as the Doctor took them off. She immediately ran to the console to help.

~8~

The Ambassador blinked a few times as she stepped out of the TARDIS, following the Doctor and the humans, making sure to keep the humans between them. It was quite a bit brighter outside than it was in the TARDIS. She purposefully looked over at the market when she caught the Doctor glancing back at her for her reaction, being sure to keep her expression neutral.

It was a beautiful place, she had no doubt about it. She had seen many beautiful worlds during her work as an Ambassador, she could appreciate the beauty of Earth. But, at the same time, she had a sinking feeling in the pit of her stomach that the Doctor hadn't selected Venice, what she assumed was a romantic location based on it being a gift for Amy and Rory, just because of the humans. Something made her feel like she had had some small part to play in his decision as well. He could have taken the humans anywhere, it didn't have to be romantic, it could have been some place they had always wanted to go, some place fun, but he'd gone for romantic.

And he kept glancing at her for _her_ reaction.

The Doctor cleared his throat, "Venice!" he spun around, his arms stretched wide, "Venezia! La Serenissima! Impossible city. Preposterous city! Founded by refugees running from Attila the Hun. It was just a collection of little wooden huts in the marsh, but became one of the most powerful cities in the world. Constantly being invaded, constantly flooding...constantly...just beautiful!" he looked over at the Ambassador quickly, faltering slightly when he saw her actually looking back. But her expression…it was odd. It was like she was seeing something else when she looked at him. He tried to put a smile on his face, not sure what to make of her expression, "Oh, you gotta love Venice. And so many people did. Byron, Napoleon, Casanova. Oooh, that reminds me…" he quickly checked his watch, "That's alright. Casanova doesn't get born for 145 years. Don't want to run into him. I owe him a chicken."

"You owe Casanova a chicken?" Rory turned to him.

"WHY do you owe Casanova a chicken?" the Ambassador had to ask.

"Long story," the Doctor scratched the side of his face, seeming slightly embarrassed now that they were asking, "We had a bet."

He glanced at the Ambassador again, checking her expression and had to look away. The way she was eyeing him just then…he wasn't sure she was aware of how it came across to him. But it was like she was dissecting him with just her eyes, reading something in him he hadn't intended for her to see.

He put another smile on his face and spun around to lead them off…only for a man in quite official garb to step in front of them, halting their way.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa," the man called, "Papers, if you please. Proof of residency, current bill of medical inspection."

"Ah, yes," the Doctor patted his pockets when the Ambassador stepped forward and held out a paper to the man.

"All the documentation you need, I believe?" the Ambassador offered.

The Doctor looked between her and the paper to the official and back at the paper and up at the official once more, his eyes wide.

"Is that psychic paper?" Amy whispered behind him, "Did she just give him her OWN psychic paper?"

The Doctor could only nod and look at the Ambassador with even wider eyes. Though, he supposed it made sense, her title gave away her role on Gallifrey. She would have needed some sort of credentials to get into the more restricted areas of some planets in order to observe and negotiate, to investigate some cases. Well that said one thing about her status, she was a very high ranking Ambassador if the Time Lords allowed the use of psychic paper for her dealings. She must have had it tucked away in her uniform, it wasn't something to let fall into anyone's hand.

"I am so sorry, your Highness," the man bowed deeply to her, before doing the same to the Doctor, "Your Holiness. I didn't realize."

The Ambassador nodded, taking the paper back, "It is a dedicated man to see his job done so thoroughly," she remarked, making the man beam.

"And, speaking of jobs, yours is…" the Doctor led in.

"Checking for aliens, visitors from foreign lands what might bring the plague with them," the man answered.

"Oh, that's nice," Amy muttered, "See where you bring me? The plague," she half heartedly slapped the Doctor's arm, but the man flinched back away from her touch, making her frown.

"Don't worry, milady," the official reassured her, "No, we're under quarantine here, no one comes in, no one goes out, and all because of the grace and wisdom of our patron, Signora Rosanna Calvierri," he held up the box he was carrying, an intricate 'C' carved into the top.

"How interesting," the Doctor observed, "I heard the plague died out years ago."

"Not out there. No, Signora Calvierri has seen it with her own eyes. Streets are piled high with bodies, she said."

The Ambassador straightened at that, "Oh she did, did she?"

The Doctor glanced at her, seeing the same distrust and suspicion in her eyes as he was feeling at seeing the box. It wasn't just intricately carved, it was alien in design, the carvings a message to any who could read it, and he certainly could.

Rory leaned forward over the Ambassador's shoulder, peeking at the psychic paper she was casually tapping against her palm as the guard walked off. He blinked, "Lord Williams?"

The Ambassador glanced at him, "What, did you think I'd make you a eunuch or something?"

Rory just shrugged, not entirely sure what the weird paper was going to make him, but he wasn't going to complain. Lord Williams, he could get used to that.

"Come on," Amy murmured beside him as the Doctor and Ambassador continued down the path.

"You do that a lot?" the Ambassador asked the Doctor quietly as she walked beside him, though as close to the wall of the alley as possible.

"Do what?" the Doctor glanced at her.

"Talk."

"I always talk."

"I know, I think every Time Lord knows about your gob that won't stop," she remarked, glancing at him, "I meant how you talk but never _say_ anything."

The Doctor glanced away at that, recalling a few past companions who had made that very same observation about him. He might have been impressed that she'd noticed so quickly whereas the others had taken a few trips, had it not been for the way she'd looked at him earlier. He'd started spouting off about Venice, then not elaborated on Casanova. If anyone was going to pick up on that, it would be another Time Lord, they were clever for a reason.

"I suppose I do," the Doctor murmured. He held his tongue, not wanting to remark about how the humans would never understand, how no one could comprehend the things he'd lost, the trauma he'd endured, not wanting to say that some of the things he said were just too complicated to humans. He knew how that would sound to her, how she might take it as him trying to get her to stay so he could actually TALK to someone.

He didn't want that. If the Ambassador was going to stay, he wanted it to be because she chose to, not because she felt she had to.

The Ambassador didn't say anything more as they came to a ledge by one of the canals, watching what appeared to be a profession of young women in white gowns and veils walking on the other side. They watched in silence as a man rushed up to the procession, reaching out to grab one of the girls only to be shoved back by the other girls, some men rushing over to haul him away to let the women pass. The man was shouting something, but unable to follow before he turned and stormed off.

"What was that about?" Amy murmured beside them.

The Ambassador looked over to see the Doctor scurrying away, in the same direction as the man had gone. She glanced at the humans, still watching the procession, before sighing and moving to follow the Doctor. If the rumors were true about him, he was likely about to get into trouble and cause some sort of international incident. She may not be an Ambassador for her people anymore, but she couldn't turn her back on the promise she'd made when taking up the title, to try and preserve the peace and understand the cultures she found herself dealing with.

Humans...she'd never had much experience with them, but she was sure, for all the experience the Doctor had, he was about to muck something up. It probably wasn't the best thing to leave the humans unattended, but the Doctor, any alien among a larger species, stood to cause far more trouble.

~8~

"Do you always do that too?" a voice said behind the Doctor as he followed the man through the alleys of Venice. He nearly jumped out of his skin as he spun around to see the Ambassador had followed, though Amy and Rory were nowhere in sight.

"What was that?" he asked, a hand resting in the center of his chest as his hearts raced.

"Leave your companions alone?"

"Well, they are on a date…"

She lifted an eyebrow.

"Not always…" he defended, before pointing at her, "But you left them too!"

"Not my companions," she countered, crossing her arms.

He had to nod at that, "I don't know what was happening back there. It could be nothing, it could be alien, I could be going to learn things from the villain of this story," he shrugged, "If it is nothing, I don't want to get their hopes up that it'll be an adventure."

The Ambassador had to shake her head at that, "You know what I can't work out?"

"What?"

"How is it possible you've gotten out of half the situations I've heard about you getting into when you're THAT rubbish at lying?"

"Oi!" he pouted at that.

The Ambassador just rolled her eyes and walked past him, "You're too curious for your own good."

The Doctor frowned, reaching out to grab her arm as she passed even though he knew it was probably the worst move he could make when he felt her tense beneath his grip. "That's not why I left them behind," he told her, consciously working to keep his thumb from stroking her arm, "I don't know what I'm walking into. I don't like to put anyone in danger if I can help it. I go first."

The Ambassador looked him in the eye at that admission, sensing no falsehood from him, "That's surprisingly responsible."

"I'm full of surprises," he offered with a smile.

"Your hand?"

The Doctor nodded quickly, letting go of her arm to take a step back. He'd pushed it by even grabbing her like that, had been lucky she hadn't slapped him or pulled away. She was protected from his touch due to her coat, could probably only feel the heat of his hand or the pressure of his grip but nothing else. Still, he knew how she felt about them being that close in general. He didn't want to push it any further.

"You came after me," he pointed out to her, running a hand through his hair.

"I've heard enough about your adventures to know this minor stroke of responsibility is probably the ONLY one you're going to have," she reminded him, "IF this does end up being something, human or alien, it's my duty as an ambassador to help."

He smiled at that, "Well then, shall we?" he gestured for her to take the lead.

She nodded and began to walk once more, tensing when she felt his hand hover near the small fo her back. It was a gentlemanly gesture, she knew, polite, but she had allowed his grip on her arm, she was not ready for much else past that today.

"Doctor."

"Right, sorry," he seemed to know what she was talking about in just that word and pulled his hand away, sticking them both into his pockets.

They walked on in silence for another moment, till they caught sight of the angry man from earlier just a few feet ahead.

"Who were those girls?" the Doctor called out with all the subtlety of a bull in a china shop.

The Ambassador closed her eyes for a moment, shaking her head at his lack of tact.

The man seemed to be too worked up to notice however, turning to them in anger instead of suspicion, "I thought everyone knew about the Calvierri school."

"Clearly, we don't," the Ambassador offered, "Where we come from, parents are usually very happy when their children are accepted into schools. You don't seem all that pleased."

The man hesitated, looking around before he sighed and stepped forward. Here were two people who were actually LISTENING to him, or at least seemed willing to, "Something happens in there. Something magical, something evil. My own daughter didn't recognize me. And the girl who pushed me away, her face...like an animal."

The Ambassador glanced at the Doctor and he turned to her, both of them seeming to come to the silent conclusion that, alien or not, the way he described his daughter and what was happening at least warranted investigation.

The Doctor nodded and turned to the man, smiling, "I think it's time we met this Signora Calvierri."

~8~

"I'm not sure this is the best method," the Ambassador remarked as she followed the Doctor along the edge of the canal just outside the Calvierri school. The man, Guido as he'd introduced himself, was doing his best to cause a distraction up front so they could sneak into the school from the side.

"How else can we get inside?" the Doctor whispered back.

"The front door?"

He laughed a bit but said nothing as he focused on using the sonic screwdriver to open the canal gate and sneak inside, the Ambassador left little option but to follow. If they got caught, she was quite sure he'd need some help talking his way out of this one. Breaking and Entering never went over well anywhere.

The two Time Lords made their way down a set of stone steps, into a dark chamber underneath the school. The Ambassador looked around, trying to work out the best way to get up into the actual school from there, when the Doctor was distracted by a mirror on a nearby wall.

"Hello, handsome!" he chuckled, straightening his tie and checking his teeth in the reflection.

The Ambassador walked over as well, somewhat behind him, frowning at it, "Why is there a mirror down here? There's no one…"

"Who are you?" a chorus of voices spoke behind them, startling them into turning around to see a small group of women in white night gowns standing there.

The Doctor pointed at them a moment, before glancing over his shoulder to see there was no reflection of them in the mirror, and back, "How are you doing that? I...am...loving it! You're like Houdini, only five scary girls, only he was shorter. WILL BE shorter."

"I honestly don't care about how tall Houdini is going to be," the Ambassador muttered, "If we could focus?"

"I'll ask you again," the girls spoke as one, "Who are you?"

The Doctor whipped out the psychic paper, this time having it ready, "Why don't you check THIS out?" but the girls just tilted their heads, not seeming to care what the card had to say. He flicked it around to check it was working before huffing and putting it away. "Pale, creepy girls who don't like sunlight and can't be seen in a mirror," he murmured, glancing at the Ambassador as she frowned, eyeing them critically, "Are you thinking what I'm thinking?"

"That it's certainly alien?" the Ambassador offered, "Then yes, I am."

She wasn't sure how she felt about it. There was no logical or human reason why the girls would be turning into…whatever it was they were turning into. She knew there were diseases and genetics that could have a play in humans not going out into the sun, but the way Guido had phrased it made it sound like the girls turned into this and did not come to the school because of some sort of preexisting condition. Which meant, given the tech of the times, it had to be alien.

On the one hand, she was disappointed, she didn't want it to be alien. She just…she'd JUST lost her planet and she didn't want to have to face yet another alien species after all that. She didn't really want an adventure the way the Doctor seemed to. She really just wanted time to process everything, to grieve her losses, and this was not something she wanted to deal with. But…on the other hand…a small part of her was a little…relieved. There wasn't much to do as an Ambassador of Gallifrey when Gallifrey was gone. Having some sort of alien problem to help sort out? It might be…good. Or at least distracting, something to focus on, some part of the universe trying to tell her that all her skills weren't useless now, she could still HELP just like she'd wanted to do on Gallifrey.

The Doctor's excitement wasn't particularly helping her conflicting feelings.

The Doctor snapped his fingers and pointed at her in agreement, "But the city. Why shut down the city? Unless..."

"Leave now," the girls started to step towards them, "Or we shall call for the steward...if you are lucky."

The Ambassador's eyes widened as the girls literally bared FANGS at them and hissed like animals, almost exactly like the 'vampires' she knew a few cultures believed in. There was a small nudge beside her from the Doctor and she turned to run for the stairway, the man just behind her.

But then he stopped on the bottom step to face the girls once more, "Tell me the whole plan!"

"That never works," the Ambassador shouted, grabbing his elbow with her gloved hand to yank him onwards up the stairs and out into the sunlight once more.

She let go as soon as she was sure he wasn't about to run back into the chamber, the two of them sprinting down the alleys in the direction Guido had said his house was…only to literally run straight into Amy as she ran in the other direction.

"Doctor!" Amy cheered.

"We just met some vampires!" the Doctor shouted at the same time Amy cried, "We just saw a vampire!"

The Ambassador shook her head as the two began to jump up and down in excitement, both talking over each other about their encounter. "Are you both absolutely mental?" she huffed, panting slightly from the run.

"We think we just saw a vampire," another voice added as Rory ran up.

"Yes, we've heard," the Ambassador sighed, rubbing her forehead, honestly not understanding at all why they were so excited.

"The Doctor actually went to their house!" Amy added.

"Ok," the Doctor stepped back from Amy with a clearing of his throat when she moved to make a grab for his hands to pull him in the direction they'd seen their vampire. It was like a cold bucket of water had been poured over him at the action, reminding him exactly what would happen if she touched his hand. He straightened his jacket, "First we need to get back in there somehow."

"What?" both the Ambassador and Rory called, glancing at each other a moment before turning to the Doctor.

Amy, however, seemed eager, "How do we do that?"

"We are not sneaking back into that school," the Ambassador shook her head.

"What school?" Rory looked between them all, confused, "There's a school of vampires?"

The Doctor nodded, "Come and meet our new friend."

~8~

The Ambassador stood, with her arms crossed, beside a table in Guido's home, a map of Venice lying on it, making sure she was on one side of the table opposite the Doctor and Amy at the other end. Rory was sitting off to the side, not seeming happy with the situation. She could admit she wasn't fully pleased either, but if there was something happening to those innocent girls, she was obligated to help stop it, especially if it was alien.

"As you saw, there's no clear way in," Guido was explaining, "The House of Calvierri is like a fortress. But there's a tunnel underneath it, with a ladder and shaft that leads up into the house. I tried to get in once myself, but I hit a trapdoor."

Amy straightened up, "You need someone on the inside."

"No," the Doctor stated, sounding more like someone chastising a child than answering a question.

"You don't even know what I was going to say!"

"We pretend you're an applicant for the school to get you inside and tonight you come down and open the trapdoor to let us in."

"Oh. So you know what I was going to say."

"Are you insane?" both Rory and the Ambassador asked, looking at the girl, then each other, and back to Amy.

"We don't have another option."

"We actually do," the Ambassador stated.

Rory quickly stood up and pointed at the Ambassador, "See, another way. You're not going in there, Amy, even the Doctor said no."

"My thoughts exactly," Guido too agreed, not wanting another innocent girl to get caught up by the Signora. He pointed over at the barrels Rory had been sitting on, "I work at the Arsenale. We build the warships for the navy."

The Doctor gave a nearby barrel a quick sniff, "Gunpowder. Most people just nick stationery from where they work. Look, I have a thing about guns and huge quantities of explosive."

"While an option," the Ambassador began dryly, "Not quite what I was suggesting."

"Guys, we don't need another plan, we've got one," Amy continued to defend, "I'll be there three, four hours tops."

"No," the Doctor shook his head at her, "No, no, no, no, no. It can't keep happening like this. This is how they go," he plopped down on the end of Guido's bed, his head falling into his hands for a moment as he took a deep breath and sat back, "But I have to know. We go together. Say you're my daughter."

"Oh my stars," the Ambassador muttered under her breath, rubbing her forehead at how foolish that plan was.

"What?!" Rory was a bit more vocal, "Don't listen to him!"

Amy seemed of the same mind, but for another reason entirely, "Your daughter? You look about nine."

"Brother, then," the Doctor shrugged.

"Too weird. _Fiancé_."

"No."

Amy blinked, a little startled at how firm and almost…displeased the Doctor sounded in just a single word.

"I'm not having him run around telling people he's your fiancé," Rory agreed.

"No," Amy winced, "No, you're right."

"Thank you."

"I mean, they've already seen the Doctor. You should do it."

"Me?"

"Yeah! You can be my brother!" Amy bounced over to Rory and playfully noogied him.

"Why is him being your brother weird, but with me, it's ok?"

"No!" the Ambassador cut in to all the talking, "No, we are not sending ANYONE into that school as a student. We are _not_."

"Excuse me, but you are not the one in charge here," Amy turned to her.

"And you are?" the Ambassador crossed her arms.

"The Doctor is."

"Not in this case he's not," she argued, "THIS is what I do. This is what I've always done. I investigate claims, I talk to all parties involved, I understand both sides, and I help resolve situations. When an Ambassador of Gallifrey arrives, it is with the knowledge that a people are being investigated or negotiations are about to occur. We don't need to _sneak_ into the school, we CAN walk in through the front doors and confront them directly. _I_ can," she looked around the room, firm, "So no, Amy, you will not be sneaking in, I will speak with the Signora myself."

And it was more or less true, that was what an Ambassador of Gallifrey would do. They acted in many different capacities. They were representatives of Gallifrey, sent to other planets to negotiate, whether it was a peaceful setting or hostile. They learned about the cultures, history, and politics of those planets. Sometimes they were sent there to investigate claims that warranted negotiation to find a resolution. They were also called into different planets that expressed an interest in learning about Gallifrey or forming an alliance with it. If the Signora was doing something to the human species, depending on what it was and how she was getting participants, what their knowledge and consent was, there might be a possibility for negotiation still. She needed to know more about the situation at hand first. Given that doing anything like this would require technology far beyond the times, it could be a manner of time travel and distortion of the points in time which would fall under the jurisdiction of the Time Lords when there were no other authorities around.

The Doctor was biased towards the humans, no matter what was happening in that school, his first desire would be to stop it, for the humans. She was no such thing, she was impartial and could look at both sides, she still had the capacity to hear the Signora out and WANT to find a way to help resolve all this, if there was any way to do it. People didn't just make vampires for no reason, she needed to learn what the Signora's was.

"Are you sure?" the Doctor asked, his voice quieter than normal, his gaze intent and locked on the Ambassador.

She nodded, "I am."

He wasn't happy with it, he didn't want her to walk into a building when they still weren't sure what was going on inside. She was…she was the last, she was the last of his people, the last female and their connection…he could feel it sizzling under his skin, burning him from within. It was blazing now, in his soul, this need to keep her closer and not let her out of his sight. A small, tiny part of him would have been willing to let Amy go in if it meant the Ambassador would remain safe.

But she was not his to command nor would he ever want to, he had no desire to control her or tell her what to do or not do, she was her own person. That didn't mean he had to be happy.

"Then that's what we'll do," he finally relented.

He also wasn't sure how to feel about that. He was so used to sneaking into places that the thought that he could really just amble in with a free pass was going to take some getting used to. He loved the sneaking and the adventure, he didn't want to give that up…but he could admit it would be interesting to see how this would go, if it would work, how it would work. He was so old now and while he loved his adventures, it would be nice if some things were just a little bit easier.

"This whole thing is mental," Rory remarked, sitting down on a chair now, avoiding the barrels of gunpowder, "They're VAMPIRES, for God's sake."

"We hope," the Doctor sighed.

Amy frowned at that, "So if they're not vampires..."

"Makes you wonder what could be so bad it doesn't actually mind us thinking it's a vampire?"

"I suppose we're about to find out," the Ambassador determined.

~8~

The Ambassador squared her shoulders as the doors to the main chamber of the Calvierri school were opened for her, holding her head high as she made her way into the chamber. She approached a woman sitting on a literal throne, dressed in all the finery of the era, with a handful of men on either side of her.

The woman observed her for a moment, seeming amused, "It is not everyday a child comes to beg entrance to my school without a parent vouching for them."

The Ambassador smirked, "I'm not a student," she told her, "If I may have a private word? There are sensitive matters to discuss. The _plague_ , being one of them…"

The Signora appeared intrigued by that, "I will not be parted from my son."

"Your son is more than welcome to remain."

The Signora nodded, gesturing with her hand for the others to leave, the Ambassador watching them go, waiting till the doors shut before she returned her gaze to the Signora.

"Thank you, for your cooperation," the Ambassador told the woman, stepping closer, casually, doing her best to keep herself from appearing threatening.

"What news have you about the plague?" the Signora added, though the Ambassador noticed her gaze flicker behind her, where her 'son' had moved to stand behind the Ambassador.

"It is more information," the Ambassador began, "And if our negotiations are to remain peaceful, you may want to tell your son to stand down."

That only served to have the boy pulling his sword.

"What negotiations are these?" the Signora asked, holding up a hand to still her son.

The Ambassador smiled and pulled out her psychic paper, offering it to the woman, watching her reaction carefully as all Ambassadors had been taught and trained to do. If she was indeed alien, as suspected, it may be one of the species who could see through the paper or not see it at all and every piece of information helped.

"You're a Time Agent," the woman breathed, her lips pursing soon after.

The Ambassador eyed her, noting the pursing, the way her gaze flickered, and lifted her chin. She was one of the species who could clearly read the paper, but she was also aware of what the paper was. Interesting.

"Agent…Sadie," she offered, sounding quite resigned to the use of that name. She couldn't blurt out she was the Ambassador of Gallifrey, not knowing which species would consider her people an enemy, but neither able to offer the Judoon as she was clearly not that species. The Time Agency was well known, neutral, but she would have needed to offer a _name_ not a title for it. Given her 'human' appearance, it would need to be some sort of expected human name. She was not familiar enough with the species to guess one.

She half cursed that River woman in her mind for even introducing such a name that it got stuck in her head.

"And why have you come to my small school?"

"You don't seem surprised or confused by my being a Time Agent," the Ambassador remarked, as though she were making a point, "You're familiar with it, so you are either a time traveler yourself, or an alien who is very much aware of why I am here."

The Signora stiffened, her gaze flickering back to her son and shaking her head. The Ambassador watched as the boy moved back to her line of sight, sheathing his sword.

"We have done nothing wrong."

The Ambassador gave a small nod, "I am not here to accuse or condemn," she reassured the woman, holding up her hands in a small surrender, "I am merely here to investigate that there is nothing illegal or unsavory happening. The timelines must be maintained, you understand."

The Signora gave her a tight smile, "Of course."

"Then you would be agreeable to my observing the school for a short while? Ensuring there is nothing here that would have that affect?"

"We have nothing to hide," the Signora offered.

The Ambassador gave another nod, though carefully schooling her features to hide her growing suspicion.

~8~

The Ambassador followed one of the Signora's men, a man who had introduced himself as Carlo, as he gave her a tour of the school. She was sure that the Signora and her son were likely clearing up the evidence of whatever they'd been doing to the girls, but that was the thing. The Doctor, Amy, Rory, and Guido were keeping careful watch all around the school. If one of them caught the others tossing evidence, it would condemn them.

More than likely, she thought, they were probably more focused on stowing everything away. If there was even a chance that she would announce them innocent or willing to negotiate, they would need to continue whatever it was they were doing after she left. They couldn't risk throwing away whatever tech they had. So they had to be hiding it, she just had to find it.

She paused outside a door, seeing a room with the girls within, all in their nightgowns just like in the chamber beneath the school.

"May I help you, ma'am?" Carlo stepped back to her.

"These are the students?" she gestured at the women.

"Yes, ma'am."

She nodded, "I would like to speak to the newest student."

"Right away, ma'am," Carlo nodded, having been instructed by the Signora to do as the woman requested. He stepped into the room and made a gesture for the girls to follow him out, "Not you, Isabella."

The girl in question, Isabella, Guido's daughter, nodded and began to sit back down on the end of her bed as the other girls left.

The Ambassador glanced back, shutting the door behind her and moving to pull a chair in front of Isabella, "I'm the Ambassador," she offered, "You're Guido's daughter?"

The woman looked up, startled, "You know my father?"

She nodded, "I'm here to investigate the school, make sure they aren't harming people or disrupting anything. Isabella, I need you to tell me what they've done to you and the other girls."

Isabella hesitated a moment, but took a breath, "They, um...they come at night. They gather around my bed and they take me to a room...with this green light and a chair with...with straps, as if for a surgeon."

"And after?" the Ambassador reached out to place a gloved hand on Isabella's, the girl twisting her hands in her lap. It was already shaping up to be alien and illegal just based on how little Isabella knew and understood what had happened.

"I wake up here. And the sunlight burns my skin like candle wax."

The Ambassador inhaled slowly but deeply, before sitting back, "And this room…where is it?"

She would let the Doctor and the others into the school, she decided, just as she'd promised to do so they could help her get Isabella out, and then…she would go find that room and confront the Signora about her dealings.

There might still be a way to resolve this peacefully, but she needed to know exactly what was happening in order to make that decision

~8~

The Doctor glanced back as he sat before Rory and Amy in the gondola as Guido guided it through the canals towards the doorway he'd found. Rory didn't look pleased to be there, likely because he wasn't thrilled to not be at his stag night and about to get married and was now dealing with an alien invasion of sorts. Amy, too, didn't look pleased to be there, though he was fairly certain it was because she would have rather been the one in the school. He had to admit, he was of the same mind as Amy, he would have rather been in the school as well.

Still, they hadn't noticed anything odd leaving the school, no suspicious behavior or activity, which had to mean the Ambassador was still alright.

He _really_ hoped she was.

~8~

The Ambassador quietly moved through the halls of the school that night, a lamp held high. The Signora had been…gracious and offered her a room, to better observe the girls during their morning rituals. She was more certain that it was just the woman's way of trying to appear less suspicious and more like she had less to hide.

Still, it was not going to stop her from finding that room Isabella had told her about. The plan was simple. She couldn't risk how deep Isabella had gotten with the school, so she was going to let the Doctor and the others in, direct them where Isabella was, and then she was going to find that room…speaking of rooms. She paused, catching something out of the corner of her eye as she passed on. She stepped back, lifting the lamp higher to see into the room where there was a skeletal hand hanging out of a wooden chest.

She shook her head, this was not helping the Signora's case. There were always ways to come to a compromise, within reason, boundaries that could be set, systems that could be put in place where both sides got what they wanted. But if the Signora's methods were killing girls…that was something else entirely and not something she could let pass.

~8~

"We're here," Guido murmured as he brought the gondola close to the side of the canal.

"Right," the Doctor stood, using the sonic to flash the locked gate before them. Once it was open and he'd stepped into the doorway, he looked back, "Ok, so, Rory you're with me, Amy, you stay with Guido."

"Hold on," Amy shook her head, "I am NOT staying behind!"

"This is a school that takes young girls and turns them into vampires," the Doctor cut off the rest of her complaint, "We can't risk you getting caught in there."

"The Ambassador's in there."

"Yes, I am WELL aware of that," the Doctor muttered, "But I need you to stay with Guido, Amy. Rory and I can handle this."

"We can?" Rory spoke up, not sounding at all confident that they could.

"Sure we can!" the Doctor beamed, "Amy and I have had loads of adventures, bout time you caught up!"

Amy rolled her eyes at that but couldn't deny it even as she plopped back down in the gondola. Rory let out a long suffering sigh but moved to follow the Doctor through the gateway, glancing back when the Time Lord shut the gate behind him to keep Amy from following them down the path to a set of stairs.

"Right. Ok, I'll go first," the Doctor spoke quietly, holding a torch up, "If anything happens to me, go back..."

"What happened?" Rory cut in, "Between you and Amy? You said she kissed you."

"Now?" the Doctor huffed, glancing up at a wooden door ahead, "You want to do this NOW?!"

"I have a right to know," Rory muttered, "I'm getting married in 430 years!"

A/N: I am SO happy to be back! Or at least I'm going to try and be. It will be really slow going with updates, but I'm going to try and update a story at least 3 times a week focusing on the currently in-progress ones: Calm Before the Storm, Intercession, New Beginnings, The Relationship Expansion, and Thief in the Night. So three of those stories should be updated a week and I'll do my best to rotate them, one after the other. If I can manage, I'm also going to try to get up the movie-stories caught up too, so Thor/Athena, Loki/Kona, Kirk/Victoria, Spock/Cora, and even introduce a Captain America OC for Steve, and try to get Sherlock/Leena squared away if I can ;)

There's a few posts up on my tumblr regarding why I wasn't able to post or be online much even after my last posts on tumblr promising to be updating again. Long story short, after my brother got married...and then divorced, so that was fun...the cafe I worked at ended up being without a manager for quite a while so it was basically me and one other girl running the show. We finally did get a manager near the end of last year, but she was not really the best fit. I don't want to say she was incompetent, but after the learning curve excuses wore off (it just isn't realistic that after 4 months she still didn't know what soups got water and what got milk) we started to realize that was truly the case. The other girl I worked with left after the manager made it almost impossible for them to work together, and it was just me for a while after, and I was doing almost everything the manager was supposed to be doing in terms of running the cafe. It got to be way too much stress and anxiety, especially because I would usually end up fixing things the manager was doing wrong (repeatedly and after I'd walked her through how to do it correctly a number of times) and I finally had to leave. I've been using the last month to really recuperate and get back to a good place with my anxiety and health and focus on things that make me happy and calm like my writing. I was expecting that, with a manager around, the stress I felt building up would have gone down and I could focus more on writing, but she just made everything worse and there went my writing plans :(

But I'm back now and, while I won't be updating every day, I will still be trying for 3x a week, probably aiming for Monday/Wednesday/Friday. The spin-off stories will be on hold for a while, probably just updated every so often when I can squeeze them in, but not on the days they used to be uploaded :( Still, I really want to get back to my posting and I'm going to start off slow and steady and see how it goes from there :) I want to try and rotate the stories and not just focus on one while leaving the rest to wait.

I just want to say I'm so sorry for it being so long since I've posted last, and I really cannot wait to get back to some sort of regular updating schedule :) I hope you all will like what's coming up for Sadie (and Angel and Claire and Menna, and Lyssa, and Kona, Cora, Victoria, Athena, Leena and...Steve's OC lol).

For anyone that wants a nice little throwback, I've also started reposting some of my older work on AO3, still under LizzeXX, I'll be putting a link on my profile soon but there's one up on my tumblr. So far I've just started Proffy's second story. I'll admit I AM a little worried about plagiarism since it's easier to copy things off of AO3 than FF, so if anyone who is a fan of AO3 or even here on FF, if you notice my work appearing again with new OC names, just drop me a message for me to check it out. I'm really hoping it'll be different and that my stories will be safe, but I've learned not to get my hopes up too far when it comes to plagiarism :/

Some notes on reviews...

To anyone that was asking me to update or apologizing for it, don't ever apologize :) I know there's usually a 'thing' about how most authors don't appreciate the 'update please' reviews or something, but I adore each and every review, even if it's just 'update please' and I appreciate a reader taking the time to type even that. I take it more as a you really enjoyed the story and are looking forward to more and just want me to know that you're eagerly waiting for the next chapter thing :) You could never be annoying or anything at all other than lovely, so never apologize ;)

I'm glad you like Sadie! :D As for the connection, I can't say just yet, but we'll find out what it is in just a few short episodes ;)

Sadie and Amy are definitely going to need to work on their friendship yup ;) Sadie isn't as bad as the Judge when it comes to humans, she doesn't harbor the resentment for them that the Judge had, but she also was content to stay on Gallifrey so she hasn't interacted with them much. I think she'll have a softer spot for Rory, which is always great in my book, Rory needs more love :)

That's fine :) I actually ended up doing that a few times with this story and writing 'The Professor' instead of 'The Ambassador' lol :) I think, in the back of my mind, Intergalactic Relations, Proffy's area, was similar to being an Ambassador so I always have to catch myself and make sure I haven't swapped TLs lol :)

Amy will struggle a little to understand Sadie and the Doctor's connection, whether it is good or bad, so she may actually try to keep them apart (while still loyal to Rory, of course), if she deems it to be as truly 'taboo' ;) As for whether Sadie will change her mind, we'll have to wait and see ;) Oh the TARDIS, her reaction to Sadie will probably make more sense once she can actually talk to them and explain herself ;)

I think Sadie will very much appreciate Rory, even here she seems to see him as the only other 'sane' one around lol :) Amy probably won't end up as petty as Rose, at least not once she realizes she really does love Rory ;)

The rejection definitely hurt him, but in the back of his mind, I think he can understand Sadie's reluctance, we just have to wait and see why that actually is ;)

Idris will have...both a surprising and unsurprising reason for her reaction to Sadie, we'll have to wait and see what it is ;)

I'm glad the stories were able to help pass the time these last few years, I hope the new content to come will do the same :D

Oh I think it's now a TL requirement that they HAVE to comment on his driving, it's just too much fun :) I really like Sadie's personality too, she's much more subdued than the others, clever, but cautious, learning about the humans as she goes, but responsible and always looking for a 3rd option that leads to peace, more direct and less sneaky, not quite interested in the adventure but knowing she needs something to help her find a purpose and reason to still be living after the loss of the War :(

A lot of things between the Doctor and Sadie are going to be about their connection at first, only later will the fact that she's the second to last start playing a role. But for now, it's sort of like the connection forming was so intense and unexpected, it threw them both for a loop and they need time to process it first ;)

I'm definitely going to be updating this more than as a backburner now yup ;) It's going to be part of my main-focus-rotation thing :) I'm really glad you've enjoyed it so far, that means a lot to me :') I have so many things planned for Sadie, I can say I'm especially eager to get to Clara ;) River will be an interesting character to write :) I feel like a lot of how she reacts to the TL is based on where the TL comes in, how much she knows about them, and the role they have in her life, so I'm excited to explore her too :)

That's awesome and I wish you the best with your stories on quotev! Hmm, some advice I have for writing longer chapters. What I try to do is take a moment to pause and get inside the head of the characters. If you're at a moment where they have an odd expression on their face, explore their thoughts, what are they thinking and feeling, if they sound a certain way while talking, sad or angry or thoughtful, stop and explore what is making them so. Let them think back to the past or worry in the present or admire someone else :) To me, it's ok to break from dialogue and add some inner thought before someone else speaking pulls them back to the present, it's always informative and, I think, really helps readers understand the emotion and mind of the characters :)

Sadie is definitely going to stand up to the Doctor yup, we saw the start of it in this chapter, especially with her comment to Amy, just because it's always been him calling the shots, doesn't mean he's the authority in every area. I really try to keep the companions real and, every so often, point out some flaws they have. I think it's mostly because I started DW with Martha, and all I heard about was Rose being the most amazing thing ever, but going back to watch her, I was just like 'THIS is Rose?' :/ That's something I really want to be pointed out here and there, their flaws, the times they do do something wrong or unforgivable, sort of like a reminder not to just remember the good but accept the bad too, so I'm really glad that comes across :) Rory, once the shock of events wears off, I think he'll be the voice of reason to Amy about exactly that point, Sadie has JUST come from the war, she's JUST lost her people, give her space :)

For the covers, I usually use just basic Paint :) I'll have two images side by side on a Paint window, and use the free cut tool to cut around an image of an actress and just sort of move it into the first picture as best I can :) Sometimes I'll upload it onto FF's Image Manager to use some tools there to blur the edges if the image is too sharp, but that's the gist of it :)

I really like Sadie's personality too. She's mature, even though this is only her second incarnation, she's married, she's lived her life and had responsibilities, so she sort of sees the humans as interesting but childlike. She's familiar with them, but hasn't interacted enough to really KNOW them. Humans are, probably, one of the few species she hasn't really acted as an Ambassador for, so she hasn't needed to learn their culture yet, but that IS something she is interested in, learning about other species :)

I fell a bit behind with updating :( But for this story (and 4 others), I'm going to be rotating through them and posting Monday/Wednesday/Friday. So the next update for Sadie will be probably Monday the 21st ;)

Sadie definitely has a love/hate relationship with the nickname. I tend to use it in notes mostly just because it saves me time in responding, but she definitely prefers the actual title. She's sort of got it stuck in her head though thanks to River and, in terms of blending in a something of a human or Time Agent, she admits it DOES fit better, human name wise, than something she might pick as she isn't quite as familiar with the species as the Doctor is. I can see her eventually using it like the Doctor does 'John Smith', as a code but not the name everyone else calls her :) There IS a nickname she does have, from Gallifrey, that we'll find out about probably sometime in Series 7 though ;)


	4. The Vampires of Venice (Part Two)

A/N: I'm just going to put this here mostly to get it out of the way and because I promised my sister I would :/ I mentioned this on my tumblr that I've made a page on a website called ko-fi. It's a quaint little site where fans or supporters of a person to show their support by 'buying a cup of coffee' for a person if they want to. It's not really an actual cup of coffee (which is nice since I'm a tea-girl lol ;)), but a small contribution that's about the price of a cup of coffee, or 3 dollars. It feels a lot like a 'let's talk about your work over a coffee' to me, which is something I'm always saying I'd do if I met a reader in real life, want to buy them a cup of tea and talk (after I've returned from turning into a koala and clinging to them in a bear hug lol). My sister was getting on my case about how I 'write all these stories for nothing' and would not let it go even after I explained that I don't write for profit, but for fun and because I love it, I love the characters, and I love my readers. But to get her to lay off, I looked into a few sites and promised to make one and let people know about it. This one seemed very simple and nice, there's no obligation or commitment or requirement at all. I'm not about to withhold updating or hold a story hostage, I love writing and all of you too much. It's completely up to the supporter if they feel they might want to contribute one 'cup of coffee' or ten in one go or one when a new story comes out or anything or nothing at all. But even my mom was encouraging me to actually make the page since it seemed like a nice, small way to show love (though I think it's more her focusing on my leaving my job lol), but still, doesn't hurt to try. The link is on my tumblr's 'Links' page and also the URL is on my FF profile if anyone is interested. If anything comes of it, at least it got my sister off my case lol ;) Now onto the story! :D

~8~

The Vampires of Venice (Part Two)

The Ambassador headed towards a well in the middle of the courtyard she'd seen when she'd first walked through the doors of the school. According to Guido's maps, there was a path under the school that led to the bottom of that well which would be where the Doctor would be heading. She set her lamp down and quickly unlocked the grate covering the well. She glanced around again, picking up the lamp once more and turned, hearing a noise behind her to see Carlo.

She kept her surprise contained, merely giving the man a nod, "Carlo, as part of my investigation I must assess the safety and security of the school. If you would be so kind as to lead me to the green room?"

Carlo looked startled at the request.

"I'm sure I can find it myself," she continued, "But what might I stumble across in the process of looking?"

Carlo swallowed hard at that, caught between a rock and a hard place before he sighed and turned to lead her down the halls.

~8~

The Doctor walked quickly down a narrow passage, his torch held aloft for more light, trying to explain to Rory what had happened with Amy without pausing to think on how Amy's touch had burned him. It hadn't been a pleasant sensation to experience once, let alone have to remember it again.

"She was frightened, I was frightened, but we survived, and the relief of it...and so she tried to kiss me."

"And you kissed her back?" Rory asked.

"I pushed her away, Rory," the Doctor told him, "Quite forcefully."

"Really?"

The Doctor sighed and turned back to him, "Rory...she tried to kiss me because I was there. It would have been you, it SHOULD have been you. And that's why I brought you here."

"And if you hadn't?" Rory had to know, what would have happened if the Doctor hadn't come to get him?

"It is never going to happen, Rory," he reassured, "I don't…I can't…Amy isn't the one for me."

"You promise?"

"I do," the Doctor swore, crossing his hearts, " _Amy_ is yours."

He had just turned to lead the way again, when Rory called out, "And the Ambassador?"

He paused, "What about her?"

"Is she yours?"

The Doctor glanced down, he was sure it would make Rory feel better to hear that the Ambassador WAS his, that if he was taken then Amy would be safe no matter what. But he couldn't say it, because he didn't know and he honestly had no idea how it would go.

"We need to go and see the vampires now," was all he said.

~8~

The Ambassador hardly blinked when she saw the Signora, her son, and a handful of girls already in the chamber she'd asked Carlo to lead her to. If Carlo, a human as far as she was aware, knew she was sneaking around the school at night, she had no doubt the Signora would be aware as well. Carlo struck her as the sort of person who didn't do much unless he was instructed to do so, the Signora would have had to send him after her for him to be there.

"Signora," the Ambassador greeted.

"Agent Sadie," the woman returned, "If that IS your name. Psychic paper," she scoffed, "Did you really think that would work on me?"

"It was actually a test," the Ambassador explained, "Whether you'd see something, what you'd see, what you'd do."

"And did I pass?"

"Well that depends," she began.

"On what?"

"On whether you tell me what it is you do to the human girls in this room."

The Signora merely grinned, "I was so hoping you'd ask that."

The Ambassador looked up as the room became bathed in a green light, just as Isabella described.

~8~

The Doctor grunted as he pushed the grate open and away from the top of the well, climbing out with the help of Rory. He turned quickly, about to reach down and pull Rory out when he hesitated.

He was going to have to touch Rory, grab his hand, to pull him up.

"Doctor?" Rory called up.

"Um…just a moment," he quickly looked around, trying to find something to help and began to pat his pockets, "Come on, come on," he muttered to himself, before grabbing the hem of his coat, "Yes!"

He quickly pulled his coat off and leaned over the edge of the well, using the coat for Rory to grab and help pull him up and over the edge.

"There we are!" he whispered with a smile, sliding his jacket back on, and looking around. His smile slowly faded when he didn't see someone waiting for them, "Ambassador?" he turned in a circle looking for her, "Where is she? I can't see a thing."

Rory quickly pulled a small pen torch out of his pocket, "Just as well I brought this, then."

But the Doctor had already grabbed a larger ultraviolet torch from his coat pocket, "Ultraviolet. Portable sunlight."

Rory stared at it a moment, "Yours is bigger than mine."

"Let's not go there."

~8~

The Ambassador glanced up at the light, "Green is not my color."

The Signora took a step towards her, "Who are you?" the Ambassador returned her focus to the woman as the Signora moved to circle the Time Lady and eye her up and down, "Where are you from? Did you fall through the chasm?"

"Mother this is pointless," the Signora's son remarked, "Let's just start the process."

"On me?" the Ambassador scoffed, "Sorry, if you're converting humans, best to avoid using me as a test subject."

"So you're not human," the Signora caught on, "What are you really doing in a world of savages with psychic paper. If you are not a Time Agent, why have you come to my school?"

"Why don't we start by talking about what your school is doing to these humans," the Ambassador countered, looking over at a large wooden chair with wrist straps that was resting in between two of the students before the girls turned to leave them alone. It rested below a hook in the ceiling that had an IV bag hanging from it. "I've seen the skeletons," she warned the woman, "I've spoken with your students, so you either tell me the truth…or there shall be consequences.

The Signora merely bared her fangs at the threat.

~8~

The Doctor did his best to drown out Rory's mumbling about the wedding while he soniced around the area. There was a chance that the Ambassador had merely wandered off to look around more, but he was starting to worry.

"If we cancel now, we lose the deposit on the village hall, the salsa band..." Rory continued, pausing only when he saw the Doctor open a nearby chest and stare at something inside it. He hopped off the well to look and see what it was, grimacing at the remains of a skeleton stuffed within, "What happened to them?"

The Doctor looked at the sonic's results, his hearts pounding in his chest at the readings, "They've had all the moisture taken out of them."

Rory frowned, "That's what vampires do, right? They drink your blood and replace it with their own."

"Yeah," the Doctor rubbed his forehead which had a deep crease in it from thought, "Except they haven't just had their blood taken, but all the water in their bodies."

"Why did they die?" Rory looked down at the body, "Why aren't they like the girls in the school?"

"Maybe not everyone survives the process."

Rory's jaw tightened at that thought, his mind flashing to what could have happened had Amy actually gone into the school and…feeling a bit concerned for the Ambassador as well. The woman as in there somewhere, because she wasn't going to let Amy go in alone, and now she could be in danger of all this. AMY could have been killed had she gone inside and he wouldn't have known.

"Thank god Amy didn't go," Rory muttered.

"I'm more surprised she didn't sneak in behind our backs," the Doctor examined the sonic for its readings.

Rory scoffed at that, his anger flaring because he knew it was something Amy would have certainly done had he not watched her like a hawk, "You know what's dangerous about you? It's not that you make people take risks. It's that you make them want to impress you. You make it so they don't want to let you down. You have no idea how dangerous you make people to themselves when you're around."

He spun around, about to lay into the Doctor once more, because even now, he was realizing that he didn't even know what else Amy had gotten into before they'd picked him up again. What other dangerous situations had she flown into because of the Doctor? He was about to demand the man tell him what other adventures they'd hand…when his words died on his tongue at the sight of the girls from the earlier procession slowly entering the courtyard.

"Who are you?" they spoke in unison.

The Doctor immediately lifted his ultraviolet light high to keep them back, "We should run," he reached out to push Rory onwards, "Run!"

~8~

The Ambassador lifted an eyebrow, unamused by the Signora's intimidation tactic, "Is that supposed to scare me?" she asked, "I've stared down the eyestalk of a Dalek, pointy teeth are nothing."

The Signora glared at her.

"Now, if we can get down to business," the Ambassador continued, "The more you tell me and the quicker you tell me what you are doing to these humans, the more willing I might be to help you find a way to live peacefully with the humans of this time. Now talk."

The Signora nearly growled, but let out a huff instead, "First, we drink them until they're dry. Then...we fill them with our blood. It rages through them like a fire, changing them, until one morning they awake and their humanity is a dream...now faded."

"Let me guess, some of the girls die?" the Ambassador dropped her arms, "You have no process at all in how you select the girls, do you? No way to judge which are compatible to your process? That is gross negligence on your part and not helping your standing at all that you're so careless with human life."

"More survive than perish," the Signora insisted.

"What do you do with the humans when they do survive?"

"If they survive, there are 10,000 husbands waiting for them in the water."

The Ambassador frowned at that, "You're converting the girls for breeding? What species are you?"

Before the Signora could even speak, there was the sound of running footsteps above them. The Signora turned quickly and rushed out with her son and Carlo after her to deal with the intruders to her home.

The Ambassador looked skyward and took a very deep breath, just knowing that it was the Doctor causing such a ruckus. He was supposed to enter the school undetected! Just because she wasn't there didn't mean he couldn't sneak about _quietly_.

…though this was _the Doctor_ , she doubted he knew how to do anything quietly.

She looked up at the IV bag hanging from the hook in the ceiling and quickly made her way over to the chair below it, stepping up onto it to try and get the bag off. If the TARDIS or the Doctor's sonic could examine the blood inside it, they could find out which species it was…

~8~

The Doctor led Rory through the winding halls of the Calvierri school, down a set of stairs and into the tunnels below, his sonic in one hand, the light in the other, scanning frantically for the Ambassador's signature only to stop short when the Signora and two other men appeared before them.

"Cab for the Ambassador?" he called, the Signora and the younger man just hissed at him, baring their fangs.

~8~

"You're ok!" a voice gasped and the Ambassador looked over to see Isabella in the doorway, "I heard the girls whispering about an intruder and the room…"

The Ambassador finally managed to get the bag off the hook, pocketing it as she jumped off the chair, "I'm fine, you, on the other hand," she observed Isabella, the girl looking absolutely wretched, "We need to get you fixed up. Come on."

She turned the girl and half pushed her out of the room and into the hallway, turning down one when she heard the Doctor shouting down it.

"This plan, not exactly watertight, is it?" the Signora appeared to be talking to him.

The Doctor's laughter echoed down the hall as they reached the intersecting corridor to see him holding a large ultraviolet light behind him to keep a swarm of the other students away.

"Rory?" was the Ambassador's first reaction at seeing the man there. Of all the things to do, the Doctor dragged a _human_ into this?

"Hello," Rory mumbled, clearly not as happy with the situation as the Doctor was.

Isabella reached out to grab the Ambassador's arm, tugging it, "Quickly, through here," she turned to lead the way down a nearby tunnel.

"Seal the house!" they could hear the Signora shouting behind them as the small group ran on, the other students rushing after them.

"So how'd your meeting go?" the Doctor called ahead to the Ambassador, a bit of a smug tone in his voice, as though he knew it would end up this way, with them needing a daring escape.

"Well they're confirmed aliens, not vampires," she responded, following Isabella closely.

He chuckled at that, "Classic."

"Is that really GOOD news?!" Rory scoffed, "What is wrong with you people?!"

"Come on, move!" the Doctor urged Rory ahead of him, hearing the girls catching up and using his torch to keep them back, "Keep moving! Come on, guys."

"Here!" Isabella half threw herself at a door, shoving it open to let them out into the daylight of Venice, "Quickly. Get out. Quick!" she moved to follow them, spotting her father at the bottom of a set of stairs that led to the canal, but hissed, stepping back as the sunlight began to burn her skin.

"Isabella!" the Ambassador turned at the sound of her cry of pain and rushed back to try and help. Isabella hadn't told her it was THIS bad, she'd said that the sun hurt like candle wax, but not that it was so bad that it was actually burning so much she couldn't go into the light at all.

Before she and the Doctor, who had also rushed back with her, could reach the girl, she was dragged back into the school, the door slammed shut in their faces. The Doctor reached out to yank it open, only to be electrocuted by some sort of current, falling to the ground.

"Doctor!" the Ambassador moved to his side, to catch him before he could hit his head on the stone, Amy jumping out of the gondola to run up with Rory and check on him.

"Is he dead?" Amy gasped.

Rory quickly examined him, "No, he's breathing."

The Ambassador looked back at the shut door, her hearts clenching painfully at the thought of what the Signora would do to Isabella…

~8~

"I am telling you," the Ambassador was speaking quietly to the Doctor as they stood in the throne room of the Calvierri school, having snuck back in to speak to the Signora, "This can still be salvaged…"

"She killed those girls," the Doctor argued.

"Are you always this quick to pass judgement?" the Ambassador shook her head, "They are an alien species trying to use their tech in a world where it doesn't fit. It says _something_ about them that they are at least aware that they need to hide it. We don't have all the facts…"

"We know the Signora is a Sister of the Water."

"Why is she here?" the Ambassador asked, giving him a pointed look when he couldn't answer, "We need _all_ the facts. We can talk to them, arrange something. Give them some way to select girls that are compatible, but only on the condition that they are made aware of what they would be signing up for, if they can fully and knowingly consent."

She was starting to get frustrated with his insistence that the 'alien' threat had to be stopped, not negotiated with. She was also starting to understand why his mind had turned to this. He clearly didn't think the Sister should be given a choice in the matter, exactly the same way he didn't think the humans should be given a choice in not becoming Sisters themselves. It was NOT his right to decide for the humans what they wanted. She wasn't trying to decide for the Sister what she wanted to do, but more try to give her a way to work towards what she wanted without harming others. For all they knew, some of those girls might have actually known or figured out what was happening and wanted it, they couldn't KNOW. But the Doctor was taking the choice from them by refusing to even hear about a plan to inform them and let them decide themselves. She would not take the choice away from the Sister with her plans on how to help them set up a system, there was room to discuss and work together, but peace also had to be kept. The moment the woman became a true threat to the humans, unwilling to care, that was when negotiations ceased and action had to be taken to STOP her. They were not at that point, not yet, and she had hope that they could still work this out. The role of an Ambassador was to foster new ties, create betterment, work towards improvement, and help...not to end life or a species just because she didn't like them. She had had no dealings with Sisters of the Water that told her they were truly hostile and without hope, not like Daleks, not like Cybermen or the few species she KNEW would only be satisfied with destruction. There was still _hope_.

"And then what?" the Doctor continued, "Aliens running around Venice? You said she wanted to breed the girls, match them up with husbands in the water, that's never a good thing."

"Yes, but are they plotting a takeover or just trying to repopulate their species and then leave? _We don't know_."

The Doctor glanced back, hearing a door open, "Then let's find out," he murmured as the Signora entered slowly. He turned to face her, "Long way from Saturnyne, aren't you...Sister of the Water?"

The woman eyed the Doctor a moment, her gaze flickering between her and the Ambassador, assuming he was an alien like the not-Time Agent was, "I take it you're a refugee, like me?"

The Doctor glanced at the Ambassador as she flinched at the term, knowing it was hitting far closer to home for her than him, "I'll make you a deal. An answer for an answer. You're using a perception filter…" it was fairly obvious, because the sonic told him the blood in the bag the Ambassador had nicked was that of a Sister of the Water, and the woman before them did NOT look at all like an insect-fish hybrid, "It doesn't change your features, but manipulates the brainwaves of the person looking at you. But seeing one of you for the first time in, say, a mirror, the brain doesn't know what to fill the gap with, so leaves it blank...hence no reflection."

"Your question?"

"Why can we see your big teeth?"

The Ambassador sighed beside him, of all the questions to ask…he started with the teeth.

The Signora just laughed, "Self-preservation over-rides the mirage. The subconscious perceives the threat and tries to alert the conscious brain."

"Where's Isabella?" the Ambassador cut into the next question, not wanting to risk the Doctor asking about something like 'why do all the girls wear their nightgowns all the time?'

"My turn," the Signora tsked, "Where are you from?"

"Gallifrey," the Doctor answered.

The woman's eyes widened at that, "You should be in a museum. Or in a mausoleum."

"Why are you here?" the Doctor seemed to take it as his turn to ask, actually trying to keep back on topic.

"We ran from the silence. Why are you here?"

"Wedding present. The silence?"

"There were cracks…" the woman began, eyeing the Ambassador when she tensed at the mention, "Some were tiny...some were as big as the sky. Through some we saw worlds and people and through others we saw silence...and the end of all things. We fled to an ocean like ours and the crack snapped shut behind us...and Saturnyne was lost."

"So Earth is to become Saturnyne Mark II?"

"With your help," the Signora stepped closer to them, "That IS what you were offering," she looked at the Ambassador for that, "We can build a new society here, as others have. What do you say?"

"There would be conditions," the Ambassador warned, "Rules, regulations, testing, monitoring, full disclosure, consequences and punishments for breaking the agreement, and you would have to leave the planet by the end of it."

"Conditions such as?"

"Our turn," the Ambassador shot back, "Where's Isabella?"

"Isabella?"

"The girl who helped us escape," the Doctor replied.

"Oh, deserters must be executed," the woman brushed it off far too easily, "Any general will tell you that. I need an answer, what would your conditions be."

The Doctor gave the Ambassador a pointed look for that remark, knowing that a large part of her choice to help the Sister of the Water would hinge on how much respect the woman had for human life, a way to judge how likely she would be to follow the conditions. Which had just been proven to be none at all.

The Ambassador sighed and gestured him to speak in her stead as this had been what he'd been claiming would happen all along. That this was an alien threat that needed to be stopped, not a cry for help to assist. He had listened to her plan, to all the reasons why she thought they should help, all the different failsafes and conditions they could implement. And it was sound, he could admit that, she clearly had ample experience with drafting up programs and trying to offer both sides a way to get what they wanted, to understand the cultures and their views.

It _could_ have worked.

She would have suggested helping them set up tech that would scan girls for their compatibility to the program, a way to explain to the girls what was going on and what would happen to them, so they would be aware of the change and could decide if they wanted to continue. She had even had thoughts on how to set up memory devices that could erase the memories of the girls if they refused so they wouldn't be aware that there were aliens among them. Some girls were orphans, some poor, others needing a way to escape their families, there were things the Calvierri school could have offered them but they needed to be aware of the situation before they could agree to take part in it. There would be stipulations that the tech remain hidden, that the Signora and her swarm would not be allowed to interfere with history, with the TARDIS carefully monitoring them. And, once they had converted enough girls or reached numbers safe for their species, they would be required to leave Earth and go to another planet that could better sustain them. Or, if that was unacceptable, an alternative would be to take her and her sons to another, empty planet. The last option probably wouldn't have been acceptable as an empty planet wouldn't help their population if it was the Signora and her sons.

But it WAS a viable solution, one that kept the unaware humans safe but also offered the Signora a way to keep her family alive.

It hinged on whether the Signora would care enough about the humans to follow those parameters. Sadly, she'd showed that she wouldn't.

"Nothing you would agree to," the Doctor told her, "And nothing we would be willing to compromise on. The safety of the humans comes first."

That was something the Ambassador couldn't argue either. When it came to home turf, as the humans would say, it was the home planet's species that was being 'invaded' as it were, their safety would be the main concern.

The Signora glared at them for that, for getting her hopes up and then refusing to help her and her people, "Carlo!" she snapped and the man rushed into the room, "You're right. We're nothing alike. I will bend the heavens to save my race, while YOU philosophize."

The Ambassador stiffened at her choice of words, "What do you mean by bend the heavens?"

"Carlo!" the woman spun to the man, "See them out."

"This ends today," the Doctor warned, "I'll tear down the House of Calvierri, stone by stone," Carlo stepped up, pushing the Doctor back with a hand on his chest, "Take your hands off me, Carlo," the Doctor jerked back at that, his gaze refocusing on the Signora, "And you know why? You didn't know Isabella's name."

With that he turned and stormed out of the room, the Ambassador following him, grim and disappointed.

~8~

The Doctor paced back and forth in Guido's home, the Ambassador, Amy, Rory, and Guido himself sitting at a table, watching.

"There's something else going on here," he muttered to himself, "Come on brain, think, think. Think! Think!"

"If they're fish people like you said, it explains why they hate the sun," Amy tried to offer.

The Doctor just shook his head, curling his hands into fists. He was so tempted to reach out and cover her mouth so he could think uninterrupted, but he…he wasn't about to touch her like that, not when he needed to keep focused on the topic and not how his hand would undoubtedly feel like it had been dunked in a bucket of ice water.

"It's the school thing I don't understand," Rory muttered.

"It does make some sense," the Ambassador offered, "It's a way to lure girls in with the promise of a finishing school that can boost their status."

"I say we take the fight to them!" Guido called, banging his fist on the table and getting up.

The Ambassador sighed and rubbed her head, "It's the heavens comment I don't understand," she admitted, "It's important, I know it is, I just don't know why."

The Doctor snapped his fingers and pointed at her in agreement, he'd gotten that same feeling, "Let's recount, her planet dies, so they flee through a crack in space and time, and end up here, then she closes off the city and, one by one, changes people into creatures like her to start a new gene pool. Got it. Then what? They come from the sea, they can't survive forever on land…"

"The husbands are in the water," the Ambassador continued, "And it's not like the girls can just disappear, people have seen them walking on land, and if they suddenly started having round stomachs, they'd get suspicious since it's a school just for girls. The husbands are probably too young to survive on the land long enough to even procreate, too."

"Unless she's going to do something to the environment to make the city itself habitable for them?" the Doctor turned to her, "Bend the heavens, bend the...the heavens..." his eyes widened, "She's going to sink Venice."

"She's...she's going to sink Venice?" Guido did not look like he believed that at all.

"And repopulate it with the girls she's transformed."

"Only the male offspring survived the journey here. She's got 10,000 children swimming in the canals, waiting for Mum to make them some compatible girlfriends," he grimaced, "Ew. I mean, I've been around a bit, but, really, that's...that's...ew."

"I've actually seen worse," the Ambassador grimaced just at the memory of it. There was another species she'd had to go look into once, the Time Lords had wanted an account of them to update their information on the species. They were…well, rather like the human story of 'Frankenstein' in how they created their perfect mates…by literally creating their perfect mates out of…others of their species…dead members of their species. It was one of her more difficult missions to keep unbiased during.

They looked up suddenly when there was a sound of a thump from above them.

"The people upstairs are very noisy," the Doctor remarked.

Guido tensed, "There aren't any people upstairs."

"I knew you were going to say that," he huffed, looking around, "Did anyone else know he was going to say that?"

Rory frowned as the thumping became more pronounced, sounding like someone walking across the top floor, "Is it the vampires?"

"Sisters of the Water," the Ambassador corrected. That was a lesson learned very early, never insult another species by getting their species wrong.

They all slowly stood, ready to run, when glass shattered behind them, the students of the school already there, trying to break in through the window while others swarmed down the stairs. The Doctor pulled out his ultraviolet light and held it before them, urging everyone else behind him.

"Aren't we on the second floor?" Rory looked at the girls in the window, stunned that they were there, either having climbed up each other to reach them or were actually flying to the window.

The Doctor turned to the girls in the window, flashing them with the light, using the sonic to scan them, which showed them all the true fish-hybrid-vampire selves they had hidden within.

"What's happened to them?" Guido gasped.

"There's nothing left of them. They've been fully converted. Blimey, fish from space have never been so...buxom," the Doctor shook his head, "Ok," he quickly turned off the sonic and nodded towards the door behind them, "Move! Come on!"

"Go!" the Ambassador urged, half shoving Amy and Rory through the door, Guido close behind as she followed after them, the Doctor bringing up the rear. She hurried after the humans as they ran out of Guido's house, through his yard, scaring his poor chickens, and spun around, "Doctor!" she called when he failed to follow.

A moment later he was out the door as well…only for it to slam shut behind him, "Guido!" the Doctor banged on the door, but it was latched shut.

"Stay away from the door, Doctor!" Guido shouted through it.

"No! Guido! What are you doing?!"

The Ambassador ran forward and grabbed his arm, dragging him back moments before the house exploded, sending them both flying to the ground. They scrambled to their feet, the Ambassador panting, a hand on her stomach from the wind that had been knocked out of her. She closed her eyes tightly, trying to breathe through the trembling she was feeling. It was so much like the bombs the Daleks would drop during the war, the explosions going off everywhere in the heat of battle.

She opened her eyes, feeling a hand on her elbow to see the Doctor looking at her with concern. She almost asked him how he was alright, how he wasn't startled himself, how he was calm…but the knowledge that the war had been over for him for decades flitted through her mind. She swallowed hard and nodded at him that she was alright.

He squeezed her elbow ones more before he looked back at the house, the girls were gone, but so was Guido.

A moment later the earth around them shook, the sky darkening as screams began to sound on the streets.

"Rosanna's initiating the final phase," the Doctor realized.

"We need to stop her!" Amy determined, turning, about to rush off, "Come on!"

"No, no," the Doctor cut in, halting Amy with just his words, "Get back to the TARDIS."

"You can't stop her on your own."

"We don't discuss this!" the Doctor half snapped, really not in the mood for this, both the Ambassador and Rory's words echoing in his head about how he handled his companions, "I have the Ambassador to help me so if I tell you to do something, Amy, and you do it. Huh?"

Amy gave him a deadly glare before she turned to storm off. Rory spared him a single glance and quick, "Thank you," before he rushed off after her.

The Doctor took a deep breath and looked over at the Ambassador, the woman had been rather quiet during that little dispute. She was looking up at the sky with a distant gaze, "You alright?" he had to ask.

Venice might be sinking around him, but here was a Time Lady clearly struggling, and, call him selfish, but after everything he'd lost, the Time Lady's wellbeing would come first.

She was silent, still just looking up, her arms wrapped around her, the pendant of her necklace clenched tightly in her one hand.

"Sadie?"

She shook her head at that, seeming to snap herself out of her thoughts, "I'm sorry," she murmured, "It's just…the sky…it reminds me of…"

"When they were putting in the sky trenches?" he guessed, his mind had gone there as well for a brief moment, seeing how quickly the storm had begun to rage, how fast the sky had darkened.

"Yes."

He nodded, wanting so badly to reach out and comfort her at how her voice had broken, but knowing his touch would be unwelcome. It broke his hearts to know that he couldn't comfort someone in distress, it sort of went with the job description of being a 'doctor' to want to make people feel better, and he knew there was nothing he could do or say that would work here.

Even worse…when she found out exactly WHY the war ended the way it did…

He swallowed hard, "This isn't them," he tried instead, "This is Earth, and that's a storm."

"I know," the Ambassador whispered, taking a deep breath and quickly wiping beneath her eye as she turned to him, "A storm we need to stop."

"Well then," he gave her a gentle smile, "Geronimo."

~8~

The Ambassador couldn't help but frown as she followed the Doctor into the throne room of the Calvierri school. She had so hoped that this would work out better than it had, that something could have been worked out, that the peace could have been kept. But now the Signora had activated a device that could end up altering history if she did in fact sink Venice at that point in time. And now it was beyond negotiating, now it had to be stopped. It didn't help to think that at least they would be saving the humans, because all she could feel was that she'd failed to prevent it. She'd tried to help, gotten involved, and now the humans were suffering for it.

The Doctor flashed the room, the sonic picking up a signal coming from the Signora's throne, so he made his way over to it, scanning it deeper to try and figure out how to turn it off, "Help me?" he glanced at the Ambassador who moved closer to pry the back of the chair off while he examined the circuitry within.

"You're too late," the Signora called out as she entered the room, not seeming at all perturbed by the screams echoing up from the streets outside the school, "Such determination...just to save one city. Hard to believe it's the same man that let an entire race turn to cinders and ash."

The Ambassador looked over at the Doctor for that, not understanding what the woman was talking about. Oh she had heard numerous rumors of the Doctor's adventures, it was quite a 'hot topic' on Gallifrey exactly what the mad Time Lord was getting into. But she couldn't recall one where he turned an entire race to ash…

"Now you can watch as my people take their new kingdom."

"The girls have gone, Rosanna," the Doctor told her.

The woman stiffened at that, "You're lying."

"Shouldn't we be dead?"

"Signora," the Ambassador called out as the woman turned to stomp away, seeming to realize exactly what their presence there meant, "Please," she nearly begged, needing to offer her one more chance to stop this, to help, "Help us. Stop this. You're endangering 200,000 people…"

The woman just sent her a sneer, "So save them."

The Time Lords exchanged a look at that as the woman left, before the Ambassador crouched down near the Doctor to help examine the circuitry. The Doctor ran a hand through his hair, frustrated, and rushed to the window, looking out and around, trying to follow another signal the sonic had picked up. He looked up, half leaning out of the window to see a bell tower above the building. He huffed and moved back into the room just as Amy and Rory came running in.

"I thought he told you to go to the TARDIS," the Ambassador called, standing up when she spotted them too.

"Get out," the Doctor agreed, "We need to stabilize the storm."

"We're not leaving you," Rory stated, puffing out his chest a little.

"Right," the Doctor scoffed, striding over to them, "So one minute it's, 'you make people a danger to themselves,' the next it's, 'We're not leaving you!' But if one of you gets squashed or blown up or eaten, who gets..."

The four of them fell to the ground as the floor began to shake. The Ambassador rolled onto her back and gasped, rolling even more to avoid a piece of the ceiling that had started to fall down from the tremors.

"What was that?" Rory shouted, hurrying to help Amy up.

"An earthquake," the Ambassador told them, pushing herself up.

"An earthquake?" Amy frowned, catching her breath.

The Ambassador looked over at her, partially stunned, partially exasperated, "Do they teach you nothing in your schools on this planet? If you manipulate the elements, it will trigger earthquakes, which then trigger tidal waves. We DID say she wanted to sink Venice, yes?" she looked at the Doctor for that.

He nodded and clapped his hands together, "Right, Rosanna's throne is the control hub but she's locked the program, so tear out every single wire and circuit in the throne. Go crazy. Hit it with a stick, anything. Now, I'm going to see about the secondary hub!"

"Doctor!" the Ambassador called as he turned to head for the windows, before sighing and leading the humans over to the back of the throne. "We need to shut this down," she told them, "We do that it'll reroute power to the hub the Doctor mentioned. We shut this down and hopefully he can shut that one down."

She watched carefully as Amy and Rory began to tear out wire after wire, keeping a close eye on the wires in particular so that they wouldn't tear out anything that could electrocute them like the door had the Doctor nor anything that might cause the throne to explode and injure them.

"Ok, ok, enough!" she told them when the lights that had illuminated the circuitry flickered off, "It's done."

Amy beamed as she jumped up, "Come on, we need to help the Doctor!" and ran out of the room with Rory rushing after her.

The Ambassador sighed and groaned internally as the humans ran right out into the storm without a thought.

"There he is!" Rory pointed up as the Ambassador joined them.

And then she really did groan out loud when she caught sight of the Doctor clinging to the side of the bell tower's top and fiddling with something. So it wasn't just the humans, the Doctor also had a habit of rushing into anything without any thought.

"Come on!" Rory encouraged, Amy joining him, "Come on!"

She watched intently as the Doctor seemed to find something, because a moment later the rain cleared away and the sky turned blue again, birds even began to chirp once more. Amy and Rory let out whooping cheers and hugged each other, laughing in joy for a success. The Ambassador just kept her eye on the Doctor, watching as he began to climb down the side of the bell tower with surprising caution.

Unfortunately, she knew it wasn't over yet.

~8~

The Ambassador slowly approached the Signora as the woman stood at the end of a dock above the canal, stripped down to her chemise and staring down at the water as it bubbled unnaturally. The Doctor had offered to speak to the Signora, but she had turned down the offer, SHE needed to do this. She felt responsible for the turn of events, she needed to be able to say she really had done everything she could. Maybe, it was a small chance, but maybe the Signora would still consider her sons in the water, their family, and accept the offer to take everyone and go somewhere else. They couldn't promise it would be a place where she could convert more people, she'd displayed a lack of care for anything but her own people, but they could at least give her a place where they could be themselves.

"You don't have to do this," the Ambassador called gently as the woman walked along a plank, closer to the water. It was clear what she intended to do.

"One city to save an entire species," the woman murmured, "Was that so much to ask?"

"You can't have the entire city, it doesn't work like that, the humans were here first," the Ambassador tried to explain, "We could have worked with you, helped you work out a way to do it, but it never would have been as fast as you wanted it to be. You didn't show any compassion or understanding, any willingness to compromise, especially when you set off that device. Now…" she took a breath, "Now the only thing to do is mourn and try to find a way to live."

The Signora turned partly to look at the Time Lady over her shoulder, "Tell me, Ambassador, is that what you did?"

The Ambassador swallowed hard, "It's what I'm trying to do."

It was still too soon, too raw, but there was nothing else to do. Even with a TARDIS, she couldn't go back and change the past, not like that. The only direction to go was forward and the only thing to do was to try and mourn.

The Signora just gave her a smirk, "When you think of your people, think of us too," and opened her arms, letting herself fall backwards into the water.

The Ambassador flinched and closed her eyes, slowly turning away and covering her ears so she wouldn't have to hear the bubbling increase or stop.

~8~

The Ambassador walked beside the Doctor, Rory, and Amy, through the streets of Venice as the townspeople made work of cleaning up the streets. She had her arms crossed, looking down more so than where she was going, just lost in thought about the situation that had happened.

"Now, then, what about you two, eh?" the Doctor was talking to Amy and Rory, "Next stop Leadworth Register Office? Maybe I can give you away."

"It's fine," Rory shook his head, "Drop me back where you found me. I'll..."

"No," the Ambassador spoke up, looking over at Rory who appeared a little startled, "You're the only other person here with any sense."

Rory smiled a bit at that.

"Yeah," Amy agreed, both sounding like she was pipping up a little too quickly but also sounding somewhat reluctant at the same time, like she knew she HAD to say something but didn't really want to, "Stay with us. Please. Just for a bit. I want you to stay."

"Fine with me," the Doctor offered. The more Rory was there, the less Amy would try to touch HIM, at least he hoped.

"Yeah?" Rory looked around, "Yes, I would like that."

"Nice one," Amy smiled and kissed Rory on the cheek, "I will pop the kettle on," she remarked, unlocking the TARDIS, "Hey," she smiled at them, "Look at this. Got my spaceship, got my boys. My work here is done."

Rory scoffed as Amy disappeared within the box, "We are not her boys."

"I'M not," the Doctor grinned, patting Rory on the shoulder and gesturing for him to head into the TARDIS. He shut the door after Rory and looked over at the Ambassador, "You sure you're alright?"

She gave him a small smile, "From this trip or in general?"

"Either one?"

"No," she could admit, "No I don't think I'll be alright for quite a while."

"Understandable," he nodded, "Um…if…if you ever need to talk or…or you have questions…I'm here."

He had probably just dug his own grave with that promise, if she asked him how the war ended…but he didn't want to lie. If she wanted to know, he'd tell her, he'd make himself tell her the truth. But…if there was even a chance that she might not ask just yet, he did want her to know he was there to talk about anything else.

"Thank you."

He smiled a bit, about to say something else when he noticed something odd, "Do you hear that?"

She looked around, glancing at the people working, all of them…very quiet, and frowned. Despite the sounds they were making, it was far TOO quiet, "It's gone silent…"

The Doctor glanced at the others too, "Through some we saw silence…" he murmured, repeating the Signora's words.

The Time Lords looked at each other a moment at that, before looking around at the area once more, the sound resuming, and turned to get back into the TARDIS.

A/N: I feel like, after the War, not much would scare the Ambassador let alone a set of fangs ;) And Rory! I feel like it's almost impossible to hate Rory, though a particular upcoming TL OC might be more neutral to his presence in the story, but gotta love Rory :) I couldn't see Sadie just letting him go since he had so many of the same reactions as she did, he's like the only sane one there besides her lol :) She'd need him around so she doesn't get out voted by Amy and the Doctor ;)

I can say that, when it comes to exactly what connection she has with the Doctor, we'll find out much more about it in The Hungry Earth/Cold Blood ;)

And finally, thank you all so much for your amazing reviews and welcome backs :') I really am so happy to be back and updating again and I'm so happy that it made you all happy as well, I really can't wait to see where Sadie goes and I hope you'll all enjoy what's coming ;)

Some notes on reviews...

It kills me to have Sadie pull away from the Doctor too, he's always SO sad when she does :'( But I just remind myself that, to her, what she's doing isn't cruel...it's sort of a small mercy, but we won't find out why that is for a few more chapters ;) I agree though, it was refreshing to see the Doctor let her take charge this time. I think he's so used to be the only one who has a better idea of what's going on and how to handle things that now he's got someone else around, he can finally breathe. He can step back and, if something goes wrong, for once it's not on HIM. Even though he would, of course, do everything to help make the situation go right, but he's not alone in having to lead the way any more :)

I'm so glad you liked the twist of the Ambassador going in instead :D I've actually got another Time Lady OC planned who is unbaised like Sadie but in a different way. Where Sadie is 'everyone who isn't of Gallifrey is an alien to me, they're all equal, so I'll try to help both sides' the other OC is more 'everyone who isn't of Gallifrey is an alien to me, and I don't really care about either side, so move aside and let me work' sort of thing. The Doctor is quite biased and in favor of the humans, even when, sometimes, they are the ones that started it against the aliens :( I think he does need someone around who isn't as enamored with humans as he is and really does see them as aliens too :)

Thank you! It means so much to me to know you're enjoying the stories so much :') I loved the little tweaks to the Merlin stories too, there was just SO MUCH potential to do things differently than the legend and I wanted to explore more of that :) For this story, if you think the connection and it's stigma is bad now...it gets even sadder when you find out exactly what the connection is and examine the way the Doctor reacts to it :'( It broke my heart to get into his head during those moments when all is revealed :'( But we'll have to wait and find out what it is }:)

I really enjoyed writing an OC who really is a complete stranger to the Doctor but has at least heard a little about him, but who also had a love of her own with someone else. Like Evy, Proffy, Mac, and the Judge, they all knew him, they all loved him at one point (Mac needed quite a bit of time to remember that though). Angel was a stranger to him, but she had time to mourn the loss of Gallifrey, she had her intuition to help her accept what he'd done, and she saw him as an amazing person. Mac was close to opposing him in the sense that she was so furious with him over what he did, not knowing about Rassilon's final plans. But with Sadie, she was married, she loved her husband, she JUST came from the war with no time to mourn or process what happened, and the Doctor is a stranger to her. She has to mourn the loss of her husband before even being able to look at him that way, and then there's what he did at the end of the war...and their connection which just sort of makes it all worse and more difficult. Sadie's refreshing in that she's really got so much stacked against the Doctor in the present (unlike Mac in the past), that it'll be an interesting journey to watch her fall in love and try to find ways around this connection ;)

Oh there will be quite a bit of emotional struggle to come };) Sadie's sort of been trained and learned how to adapt and remain calm. Things come up during negotiations and investigations that could be alarming or dangerous, especially if negotiations turn hostile, so she needs to know how to keep her head level and remain calm, how to take it in quickly and process it later. For her, I think a tiny part is being in at least something of a familiar place, like a TARDIS, with at least one of her people around, but there will be things coming up...very soon actually...that will turn everything upside down and we'll really see her struggling with what happened }:)


	5. Amy's Choice (Part One)

Amy's Choice (Part One)

The Ambassador stepped out of the TARDIS, squinting a bit at the change in light from within, before she spotted a small cottage a few feet in front. There was a hiss of the TARDIS settling behind her and she looked over as the Doctor stepped out too, having just finished parking the TARDIS. She shook her head as he managed to knock over a stone from a small wall of a flowerbed that they'd landed in on his way. He merely smiled at her and shrugged at his misstep when the door to the cottage opened and Rory stepped out.

"Rory!" the Ambassador smiled at the human, moving to give him a hug.

"Sadie!"

"Not you too, Rory!" she mock groaned. Unlike the other humans, over the course of travelling with them, Rory had taken to calling her 'Sadie' in a joking form. He often referred to her as the Ambassador, as it was her preference, but sometimes, as a tease, he would call her Sadie. She didn't mind it so much when Rory did it.

The Doctor looked less than pleased to see the two hugging and quickly stepped in, about to shake the man's hand, before he awkwardly swung it wide to pat the man on the shoulder instead, "Good to see you, Rory."

"Doctor," Rory nodded at him, a bit of an apologetic grimace on his face. He knew how much the Doctor didn't appreciate when other people hugged the Ambassador or even touched her, because it was something he still struggled to do or get the Ambassador to agree to.

Granted, he really didn't know how much time had passed for the Time Lords. He had gone on a trip or two with them before finally convincing Amy to go back for their wedding. They hadn't seen the aliens in quite some time. For all he knew, it could be five minutes for them.

"I've crushed your flowers," the Doctor apologized as well.

"We're even then," Rory smiled, "Though, Amy, on the other hand, will kill you."

"Speaking of Amy, is she out?" the Ambassador looked at the house.

"She'll need a bit longer," Rory reassured them.

"Whenever you're ready, Amy!" the Doctor called out to the still open front door, only for Amy to appear a moment later, waddling towards them with a very pregnant belly, "Oh, wahey! Wahey. You've swallowed a planet!"

"I'm pregnant," Amy rolled her eyes.

The Ambassador blinked down at the woman's stomach, "Has it been that long?" she wondered.

"Must be for her to put on that weight," the Doctor remarked absently, "She's huge!"

"Yeah, I'm pregnant," Amy repeated.

"How long's it been for you two?" Rory asked the Time Lady.

"Only about a week," she replied, "We were aiming for just after your honeymoon…"

"And now look at you," the Doctor smiled at the humans, "When worlds collide."

"Doctor, I'm pregnant," Amy tried once more.

The Doctor checked the watch on his wrist, his eyes wide at what date it was reading, "Five years later," he murmured, before beaming at them, "And you haven't changed a bit!" he moved closer to Amy, very carefully hugging her not just to avoid her stomach but touching any part of her skin. He'd usually find another way of showing his affection or happiness, but if it really had been five years for the Girl Who Waited, well, he supposed she deserved something a bit more than a pat on the back, "Apart from age and size."

Amy shook her head at him as they pulled away, a smile on her face and a softness in her eyes at the fact that he'd actually hugged her, "Good to see you, Doctor," it was a moment before she seemed to recall the Ambassador was there as well, "Both of you."

"Sorry it was so long," the Ambassador offered, searching her mind for exactly what it was that had gotten them there so late from their goal but…oddly…nothing was coming to mind. She began to frown, she couldn't think of a single thing they'd done wrong…so why…

"Are you pregnant?" the Doctor asked suddenly.

"She's only said it three times," the Ambassador pointed out, "You've not been paying attention."

"Excuse you, but I always pay attention."

The Ambassador nodded and put her hands behind her back, "What color were my gloves?"

"Brown," he answered promptly.

The Ambassador gave him a look and brought her hands out again, indeed wearing brown and not her usual black.

"Your gloves always match your boots," he nodded at her feet, before sticking out his tongue as though he'd proven his point.

…he wasn't about to tell her he might pay more attention because it was her than anything else though.

"Come on," Rory looked at the two aliens, "How about we show you around Leadworth?"

"Yes!" Amy agreed quickly, "Let me just get my coat…"

The Ambassador watched as Amy quickly hurried back inside her cottage, or hurried as fast as she could at the moment. The way the girl had spoken, how quickly she'd agreed…it was almost like she didn't want them to go inside, but she couldn't think of a reason why. She vaguely recalled a human notion that one's home must be clean for entertaining guests, but she honestly wasn't sure if that was actually humans or another humanoid planet's customs she was thinking of. She didn't get the feeling it had much to do with cleanliness in this case.

But before she could think on it more, Amy was already back, pulling on a thin coat that was more like a light, zipped jumper than anything.

They walked in silence for a few minutes, following the Williams as they pointed out a few small things here and there, the village lane did seem lovely. It was quiet and quaint, not much human traffic, nor many cars about. Peaceful. The Ambassador took a deep breath and smiled at the thought. With all the chaos that had been her life in the last few years, this was just what she needed, some peace and quiet and no alien threats to deal with.

"Ah, Leadworth," the Doctor remarked, sounding as though he were truly digging to find something kind to say, "Vibrant as ever."

"It's _Upper_ Leadworth, actually," Rory informed the man, "We've gone slightly upmarket."

"It seems very quiet," the Ambassador added, "Quaint. I like it."

"You do?" Rory was quite pleased about that.

"Yes. It reminds me of where I grew up, actually. Not so near the Citadel and the cities of Gallifrey, but on the cusp. Far enough away to not be so crowded or noisy, but still a part of things."

"Sounds lovely," Rory offered, carefully watching the Ambassador's face to make sure he wasn't overstepping by commenting on something that was so clearly dear to her and painful to think on. But she just smiled, crossing her arms as though hugging herself, but still smiling.

"Speaking of still being a part of things," the Doctor was the one frowning now, looking around, actually spinning in a circle as he did it, "Where is everyone?"

"This is busy," Amy answered, her voice just a little tense and not quite as thrilled about it as Rory seemed to be, "Ok, it's quiet, but it's really restful and healthy. Loads of people here live well into their 90s."

The Ambassador glanced at the Doctor, leaning in just slightly from where she was walking beside him, the two of them in between Amy and Rory, "90 is good for humans?" she felt like the answer was yes, but she didn't want to say anything inconsiderate if it wasn't. 90 to Time Lords was still a kid!

"For most," the Doctor agreed quietly, glancing at Amy as well, understanding the Ambassador's question. The girl really hadn't seemed pleased with that, "Don't let that get you down…"

"It's not getting me down," Amy insisted, starting to walk just a bit ahead of them, heading for a small bench to rest on at the edge of a cul-de-sac. With Rory being a doctor himself, he was insistent that she rest easy and relax in the last stages of her pregnancy, she wasn't used to walking so much.

"Does pregnancy normally wear humans out this quickly?" the Ambassador asked as the others joined Amy on the bench, not sure how to bring it up better.

"Doesn't pregnancy affect everyone the same?" Amy griped, hoping that the answer was yes. It just wouldn't be fair if Time Lords were able to get pregnant and walk around all fine and dandy while humans had to suffer backaches and morning ( more like every hour of the day) sickness.

"I wouldn't know," the Ambassador shrugged, "I never had children."

"Weren't you married?" the Doctor's head shot up to look at her, startled.

"What does that have to do with having children?" she shook her head, "Just because I was married doesn't mean I was also a mother. Not that it's any of your business, but we weren't married very long. We wanted to settle down more before we started a family, but then…"

She cut off abruptly, though they all knew the unspoken 'but then the war happened' was there.

Rory cleared his throat awkwardly, trying to erase the tension and change the topic as well, "Good thing you came when you did then," he offered a smile, "Any later and we'd have a baby around and really be dead on our feet."

"Yes, we were aiming for the honeymoon, as Sadie said…"

"The Ambassador," the Time Lady huffed in correction.

The Doctor winced minutely at that, he'd hoped that, since she'd let Rory call her 'Sadie' it meant she was warming up to the name, Ambassador was quite a mouthful, but it appeared she was quite against it still, "We just wanted to check in, see how you were. I don't just abandon people when they leave the TARDIS. This Time Lord's for life. You don't get rid of the Doctor so easily."

"Something I'm sure all his supposed enemies are quite cross about," the Ambassador added.

He just winked at her for it, "Was certainly a bit of a mistake with the timing. But look, what a result. Look at this...bench. What a nice bench. What will they think of next?"

"Motorized benches?" the Ambassador suggested, if just for something to say in the silence that followed. From what she knew of humans, they were always trying to find ways to go faster and make things mobile so it wouldn't surprise her if they did decide to add wheels to a bench and make it go one day. She put a gloved hand over her mouth, just barely covering the yawn that escaped her. It was…really quiet there, and the conversation was lagging quite terribly. And for that to happen WITH the Doctor there, that was saying something.

"So…" the Doctor tapped his knees, "What do you do around here to stave off the, you know..."

"Boredom?" Amy answered a bit quickly.

"Self harm."

"We relax..." Rory shrugged, "We live, we listen to the birds," he looked up at the trees casting shade over them at the sound of the birds beginning to chirp and sing.

"Yeah, see, birds," Amy remarked, "Those are nice."

"We didn't get time to listen to birdsong back in the TARDIS days."

"If birds began to nest in the TARDIS, that would be terrible," the Ambassador pointed out to them, looking up as well when she noticed the birdsong growing a little bit louder now.

The Doctor hunched forward, his head in his hands, "Oh, blimey. My head's a bit, ooh..." he winced, rubbing his forehead before forcing himself to sit back up, "No, you're right, there wasn't a lot of time for birdsong back in the good..." he yawned deeply, causing the Ambassador to follow suit, the humans soon after as they caught the yawn, "Old... days."

The small group slumped together as they drifted off to sleep to the soft melody of the birds above them…

~8~

The Ambassador gasped as she jolted awake on the steps of the TARDIS's console room, wincing and rubbing her neck from where it had awkwardly been placed on the steps. She'd been about to head into the TARDIS to get Amy and Rory, let them know they were on their way to yet another 'date' location as the Doctor called it. She was regretting turning her back on him and trusting that the man could get them where he intended to go on his own. She looked over her shoulder at the man in question, to see him…waking up as well?

She paused at that, when had she actually fallen asleep? She reached another hand up to her forehead, feeling around to see if she'd perhaps tripped up the stairs and hit her head, but there was no bump or pain anywhere on her head. It was like she'd just laid down and fallen asleep. And yet, so had the Doctor? How could they both have fallen asleep at the same time, right in the middle of something?

"What?" the Doctor leapt to his feet, looking around as though expecting something to be there, "No, yes, sorry what?"

"What was that?" the Ambassador asked as she moved closer to the console, rubbing her neck still, "Have we jumped a time track?" she continued, noticing Amy and Rory entering the room from the hall. They'd just been in Leadworth, five years in the future, yet now they were back to before they dropped the humans off?

"Quite possibly, or not, one or the other," the Doctor murmured, before breathing out when he saw Amy and Rory there, Amy looking just like always, flat belly and all, "Oh, you're ok. Oh, thank God. I had a terrible nightmare about you two…"

The Ambassador shook her head, "I don't think it was a nightmare," she looked at the Doctor, "Five years, them married, Amy pregnant?"

The Doctor stared at her a moment, blinking, startled that she knew that. Sometimes, when they jumped a time track, their minds needed a moment to reset, and so they'd slip asleep and wake up quite soon after. That was why he'd assumed she'd asked about it, but having the same dream was not normal for a time track jump. Though, it wasn't completely odd a thing to happen.

"Time Lords, communal dreams, especially when our mental walls are down after a time track jump," he shook his head, "It's fine, just a nightmare," he smiled and clapped his hands, laughing a bit, "Blimey, never dropped off like that before. Well, never, really. I'm getting on a bit, you see. Don't let the cool gear fool you…"

"Doctor," the Ambassador called, heading for the console where one of the lights was flashing red.

He frowned at that, "What's wrong with the console? Red flashing lights...I bet they mean something."

The Ambassador gave him an unimpressed look for that. While she could guess he was intentionally playing it off to not alarm the humans (or she hoped to the gods of Gallifrey that that was actually the case and not him honestly NOT knowing what the problem was), clearly they would know something was wrong by the flashing lights and only grow more worried that he appeared to not know what it meant. He had an odd way of creating 'trust' in people, either playing stupid in a serious situation or honestly not knowing what was going on around people who needed to trust him to survive.

"Doctor, I also had a kind of dream thing," Rory spoke up, working out what the Doctor had implied to the Ambassador about all this, that it was some sort of shared dream between Time Lords that they'd had, where it was five years in the future and Amy was pregnant…which was exactly the dream he had had and he was sure HE wasn't a Time Lord.

"Yeah, so did I," Amy added, looking at Rory, "Just what you said Ambassador, five years, married, expecting…"

"Definitely NOT a nightmare, though," Rory threw a pointed look at the Doctor for his remarks, "It was nice. A little village, you two were visiting…"

"That's the same dream," the Ambassador looked at the Doctor, who seemed honestly startled to hear that, "How could you have the same dream as us? You're not Time Lords…"

"We all just had some kind of psychic episode," the Doctor mused, "Probably jumped a time track…"

"Which only affects Time Lord minds," the Ambassador pointed out, "It wouldn't affect humans the same way, certainly not showing them the same dream."

"Ah, but that's just it," the Doctor pointed at her, "It was a dream and now we're back to reality!"

Amy frowned, looking up, hearing something odd and distinctly un-TARDIS-like, "Doctor, if we're back to reality how come I can still hear birds?"

They all fell silent at that, now able to hear the chirping of the birds as well, "Yeah, the same birds," Rory remarked, "The same ones we heard in the…"

~8~

"Ow!" the Ambassador muttered as she woke with a start to find herself wedged on the bench with Amy, Rory, and the Doctor, back in Leadworth, back in the cul-de-sac. She reached up to rub her neck, having fallen asleep in yet another awkward position, leaning back over the bench, her neck fallen back.

The Doctor had a less graceful way to wake up. He jerked back, his forehead having come to rest against Rory's in sleep, the feel of his skin touching Rory's sending him reeling back with a gasp. He half leapt to his feet, his hand coming to his forehead in a flash to rub it, panting in how startled he was to wake in such a way. A moment later, he pulled his hand down and blinked at it, seeming even more startled by something else.

He glanced up at the Ambassador and back at his hand, a frown settling on his face now.

"…dream," Rory finished what he was saying in the TARDIS, "Did we just…nod off?" he asked, "God, I must be overdoing it. I was dreaming we were back on the TARDIS."

The Ambassador stood as well, turning to face the humans with her arms crossed, "I'm guessing all of us did," she remarked, looking from Amy to the Doctor, who nodded.

"Weren't we just saying the same thing?" Amy asked.

"But we thought this was the dream," Rory agreed.

The Ambassador looked over to see the Doctor crouched in the ground, examining a small stone as he tossed it away from him, watching it intently as it fell back to the ground.

"I think so," Amy remarked, "Why do dreams fade so quickly?"

"Um…" Rory began as he stood, making his way over to the Ambassador, "What's he doing?'

"How should I know?" the Ambassador asked.

"Aren't you two…like mind melded?"

The Ambassador gave him a look, "I have no idea what that means."

"He said communal dreams and mental shields, doesn't that mean you can read minds?"

The Ambassador nodded to herself, a little impressed with how Rory had worked his way to that conclusion, he was far more clever than the Doctor seemed to give him credit for, "At times, yes. If we work at it. But I've only just met him, I'm not about to let him into my mind just like that."

It was something that was natural to them, as Time Lords, a gift for telepathy. With practice or a physical connection, they could see into the minds of others. With each other, all it took was the lowering of their mental shields or even creating a small opening in an area to allow a specific person in. Their minds naturally protected them from everyone else crowding into their minds, it was like breathing, so easy and part of them that their shields required no thought at all to maintain once they were used to them. Only with effort could they lower their shield for someone to let them in and she was truly not about to let some strange Time Lord have access to her mind. She may know OF the Doctor, but she did not KNOW him.

"Is this a Time Lord thing?" Amy called, pushing herself up off the bench with some effort, "Is it because you've shown up again?"

The Doctor shook his head and turned to them, standing, suddenly serious, "Listen to me. Trust nothing. From now on, trust nothing you see, hear, or feel."

"But we're awake now," Rory told him.

"I can see the logic," the Ambassador countered, "We also thought we were awake in the TARDIS too."

"But we're home," Amy took Rory's side.

"Yeah," the Doctor scoffed, "You're home. You're also dreaming. Trouble is, Rory, Amy, which is which?" he looked over at the Ambassador intently, giving her a pointed look that she could only return with a frown of confusion. He nodded to himself about something, and continued speaking to Amy and Rory, "Are we flashing forwards…or backwards? Hold on tight. This is going be a tricky one."

~8~

"Again?!" the Ambassador moaned as she woke up to find herself sitting on the floor of the TARDIS, right beside one of the railings, half slumped over the lower bar, her neck at an odd angle once more.

Rory and the Doctor hadn't fared much better, having woken on the floor, though Amy appeared to have made it to a chair before she had fallen asleep.

"This is bad," the Doctor muttered, rushing to the console to grab one of the levers, struggling to move it, "I don't like this!" but it refused to move…and so, as any mature adult would do…he kicked the console and began hopping around when his foot hurt, "Argh! Never use force. You just embarrass yourself. Unless you're cross, in which case, always use force."

"That should move," the Ambassador frowned, moving over to the console to examine the lever. But it well and truly was stuck, "Did you break it?!"

"Yes," he rolled his eyes, sarcasm heavy in his voice, "While we were in Upper Leadworth, I teleported to the TARDIS five years earlier just to break the lever."

"Oi, don't take that tone with me," she crossed her arms, "Your foot hurts? Deal with it, do NOT take your pain out on other people. Understand?"

The Doctor swallowed hard at that, but nodded, looking down and trying to get his emotions under control. It was just…hard to do. Everything appeared to be going wrong and this was not the impression he wanted to give the Ambassador about what he was like. If they couldn't even fall asleep without there being a danger in it, she would never want to stay in the TARDIS.

"Should I run and get the manual?" Amy asked, glancing between the two aliens, not sure what to do.

The Doctor shook his head, getting up to go check under the console for anything that might have stuck the lever in its position, "I threw it in a supernova."

The Ambassador looked through the glass floor at that, "You're joking."

"Why would you do that?" Amy asked at the same time, not even considering that it might be a joke, because it did seem like something the Doctor would do.

"Because I disagreed with it," he called up to them.

"That's no reason to throw it in a supernova!" the Ambassador chastised, "Based on your flying, there's probably a lot in there you don't agree with because it's the proper way to fly a TARDIS."

"Ok, so, no manual," Rory cut in, really not wanting the Time Lords to start fighting with each other in the middle of what was shaping up to be a crisis, "But we do know something's wrong, is that what caused us to dream about the future?"

"I'm not so certain we WERE dreaming about the future, Rory," the Ambassador sighed as the Doctor headed back up the stairs to join them.

"Of course we were," Amy argued, "We were in Leadworth."

"Upper Leadworth," Rory reminded.

"Yeah, and we could still be in Upper Leadworth, dreaming of this," the Doctor added, "Don't you get it?"

"No, ok, no, this is real," Amy shook her head, "I'm definitely awake now."

"I think we've established that we keep thinking we're awake in whichever world we're in," the Ambassador stated.

The Doctor snapped his fingers and pointed at the Ambassador, agreeing silently with her point, "You could be giving birth right now. This could be the dream. I told you, trust nothing we see or hear or feel. Look around you. Examine everything. Look for all the details that don't ring true."

The Ambassador gave him a look for that, "How do you expect humans to identify details of things that don't ring true when they're travelling in a TARDIS with two aliens."

The Doctor pointed at her like he was going to argue, only to sigh, "Valid point…"

They all looked up suddenly when the TARDIS began to power down, leaving them in near darkness with just the rotor to give even a speck of light.

"Um…it's not supposed to do that, is it?" Rory asked.

"Not if a TARDIS is well maintained," the Ambassador remarked.

The Doctor didn't even comment on that small poke, too focused on the console, on checking the readings, "It's dead. We're in a dead time machine."

"That's not possible though," the Ambassador shook her head, "TARDISes don't die just like that…"

The Doctor looked around quickly when the birdsong began to sound again, "Remember," he warned, "This is real, but when we wake up in the other place, remember how real this feels."

"It is real," Amy reaffirmed, gripping Rory's hand, "I know it's real."

~8~

"This is getting ridiculous now," the Ambassador remarked as she found herself waking up on a bench just outside a library in Leadworth, to the left of Rory who was sitting between her and Amy. She was slumped over the side of it, her one arm dangling so much it nearly touched the grass. She rubbed her arm as she sat up, spotting the Doctor had already leapt to his feet and was standing in the middle of the road observing a group of children passing by to head for the ruins across the street to play.

"Ok," Amy sighed, rubbing her stomach, "This is the real one, definitely this one. It's all solid."

"You were 'solid' in the TARDIS too," the Ambassador pointed out, getting up and looking around, needing to help find out what was going on so it would stop forcing her to wake up in awkward positions.

"You can't spot a dream while you're having it," the Doctor agreed, waving his fingers in front of his face slowly.

"What are you doing?" Rory asked the Doctor directly this time.

"Looking for motion blur, pixilation."

The Ambassador turned to him, "You think it might be a simulation of some kind?"

He shrugged, "It could be, but I don't think it is."

"Hello, Doctor!" a cheerful voice called behind them.

The Time Lords turned around, the Doctor automatically calling out a 'Hi!' to the elderly woman that was passing by, but she gave him an odd look even as Rory himself greeted the woman too.

"You're a doctor?" the Doctor looked to Rory, the woman disappearing around a bend.

"Yeah," Rory beamed, proud, "And unlike you, I've actually passed some exams."

"A doctor, not a nurse. Just like you've always dreamed. How interesting…"

The Ambassador shook her head, "No, I don't think this is Rory's dream world."

"It makes sense though," the Doctor rounded on her, "His dream wife, his dream job, probably his dream baby. This COULD be his dream."

"It's Amy's dream too," Rory argued, "Isn't it, Amy?"

"Yes," Amy answered quickly, though her voice was stiff and just a little strained, belying the answer, "Course it is, yeah."

The Doctor nodded vaguely, looking around once more before pointing a thumb over his shoulder at a building, "What's that?"

"Old people's home."

"They're very nosy," the Ambassador commented, noticing nearly all the residents were watching them from the windows.

"And old," the Doctor nodded, as though the fact that it was an 'old people's home meant they'd be young, "You said everyone here lives to their 90s. There's something here that doesn't make sense. Let's go and poke it with a stick."

Both Rory and the Ambassador groaned as the Doctor raced off towards the building. They looked at each other for the noise, offering each other a small smile for it, at least they were both still the sane ones in all this mess, before they too followed after him.

"Can we not do the running thing?" Amy called after, her hand on her back as she waddled her fastest to catch up to them, only managing to do it once they'd already gotten into the main lounge of the home.

"Oh, hello, Dr. Williams!" one of the residents called.

An older lady who was sitting on a small chair and knitting looked up to smile at Rory as he entered, "Hello, Rory, love."

"Hello, Mrs. Poggit," Rory stepped over to her, "How's your hip?"

"A bit stiff."

"Oh, easy, D-96 compound, plus..." the Doctor began, but the Ambassador shot him a look.

"I don't think that's available yet, Doctor," she turned her warning look more pointed, reminding him of the year they were in.

"Right, yes, you don't have that yet, forget that."

"Who're your friends?" Mrs. Poggit smiled up at the Time Lords, "Junior doctors?"

"I get sick at sick, so no," the Ambassador murmured idly, looking around at the other residents who were all just…sitting there, staring at them in a quite unsettling way. She was starting to get the distinct impression that they'd just wandered right into a trap.

"HE is," Rory nodded at the Doctor, a bit of a smug grin on his face.

"Can I borrow you?" the woman asked, lifting up a jumper she was working on, "You're the size of my grandson."

"No!" the Doctor stepped away quickly as the woman reached for him, a kneejerk reaction he seemed to have developed ever since the Byzantium, 5 years in the future and it had apparently gotten worse, "No, sorry, um…allergic to wool."

"Oh dear me!" Mrs. Poggit gasped, pulling her knitting back, "So sorry love."

The Ambassador looked over at the Doctor for the rather weak excuse, a sad expression on her face, knowing it had nothing to do with the yarn and everything to do with the touching that would occur to get it on him and size it up.

The Doctor offered her a small, apologetic smile and a weak shrug before he focused on Mrs. Poggit again, having caught an odd whiff of something when the woman had moved, something that smelled…ancient, and not by human standards, "You're incredibly old, aren't you?"

"Doctor," the Ambassador called, frowning now at the residents as they seemed to be smiling at them…just as the birdsong started once more, sending them all to sleep yet again.

~8~

"Why?" the Ambassador grunted, rubbing at her neck once more. All of them had somehow fallen asleep while half draped across the console and a knob was digging into the side of her neck. Whatever was happening, she was starting to think it was some sort of sick joke that she kept waking up in such uncomfortable ways.

"I hate this," Amy muttered, voicing the sentiment of everyone else, "We need to stop this, because this is definitely real, it's definitely this one. I keep saying that, don't I?"

"You do," the Ambassador agreed, "And it's not helping us either, so if you could refrain?"

Amy just shot her a dirty look.

"It's bloody cold," Rory voiced, hugging himself slightly as the Doctor moved to an upper level of the TARDIS console room off to the side.

The Ambassador glanced at the humans, "If the TARDIS really is dead, then that means everything is off. The heating too."

"Put on a jumper if it bothers you so much," the Doctor called, "That's what I always do."

"Yes, sorry about Mrs. Poggit," Rory leaned against he console with a nostalgic smile, "She's so lovely though."

"Oh, I wouldn't believe her nice old lady act if I were you."

"What do you mean 'act?'" Amy asked.

The Ambassador sighed at that, the meaning of act was quite obvious and yet she sometimes wondered if the humans were really not following along that well on purpose or if they truly were just that slow.

"Doctor what are you doing?" the Ambassador called up to him.

"Trying to find the power cut," he informed her.

"There is no power cable that easily accessed that could restore or cut power to a TARDIS from the console room," she stated, sounding like she was reciting something, "You'd know that if you'd kept that manual. Look, everything is off, the sensors, the core power, the scanners. We're drifting right now and we need to find a way to hail someone for a tow or find a planet to stop on."

"If the scanner's down we can't see out," the Doctor countered, heading back down, "Someone, something, is overriding my controls."

The Ambassador nearly jumped out of her skin when something flickered and blinked into existence right in front of her, standing on the stairs that led up to the other controls. He was a short man, a thin head of hair, somewhat plump, and dressed much like the Doctor, bowtie and all.

"Well, that took a while," the hologram began to speak, "Honestly, I'd heard such good things. Last of the Time Lords, the Oncoming Storm. Him in the bow tie. Destroyer of Worlds, now that's my favorite," he looked at where the Ambassador was standing, "Has he told you yet which worlds he's destroyed? Which one he regrets the most? I'm sure it would be quite an interesting tale…"

"How did you get into my TARDIS?" the Doctor cut in, nearly running over in his hurried attempt to stop the man revealing exactly which world it was, "What are you?"

"What shall we call me?" the hologram hummed, "Well, if you're the Time Lord, let's call me the Dream Lord."

"Dream Lord?" the Ambassador frowned at the name.

"Nice look," the Doctor eyed the hologram critically.

"This?" it gestured at itself, "No, I'm not convinced. Bow ties?"

The Ambassador reached out and waved her hand…through the Dream Lord, causing the image to flicker, "A hologram."

"Interesting," the Doctor remarked.

The Dream Lord did not seem startled, "I'd love to be impressed, but Dream Lord, it's in the name, isn't it? Spooky, not quite there," the image flickered out and reappeared behind them, "And yet, very much here," he tilted his head as he observed the Ambassador, "He's been quite a few places, the floppy haired mess over there," he jerked his head at the Doctor, "He was even a few places the Time Lords don't know about. Rumor had it he ran from the war but he was very much there…"

"I'll do the talking, thank you," the Doctor cut in with a hard tone in his voice, causing the Ambassador to look over at him for that, as far as she and many other Time Lords knew, he'd not been on Gallifrey during the war, he'd fled before it even began and hid away, avoiding it, "Amy!" he quickly called out, needing the focus off of the Ambassador, "Want to take a guess at what that is?"

"Um, Dream Lord?" Amy offered, sounding equally as confused as the Ambassador appeared with the sudden change, "He creates dreams."

"Dreams, delusions, cheap tricks, _lies_ …"

The Dream Lord snorted, "Between the two of us, I'm the only one NOT lying. To my companions, to myself, to dear old Sadie over there…"

"Doctor…" the Ambassador looked at him, a deep frown on her face at the man's words. There was something the Doctor wasn't telling her about all this.

"The Ambassador," the Doctor corrected harshly, not seeming to have heard the woman speak, or if he did he gave no indication of it.

"And look at you, turning to your companion for a diversion," the Dream Lord sighed, as though it was a bore to him, "What about the gooseberry here, does he get a guess?"

"Listen, mate, if anyone's the gooseberry around here, it's the Doctor," Rory defended himself.

"There's a delusion I'm not responsible for."

"No, he is. Isn't he, Amy?"

"Oh, Amy, have to sort your men out," the Dream Lord remarked, "Choose, even."

"I have chosen," Amy countered, "Of course I've chosen," she reached back, her eyes still on the Dream Lord, to smack Rory on the chest, "It's you, stupid."

"Oh, good, thanks," Rory muttered at the 'endearment.'

"You can't fool me," the Dream Lord looked at them, "None of you can. I've seen your dreams, Amy, I've seen your past Doctor. I know what you're truly afraid of," his smile at the Doctor turned sinister.

"Enough," the Ambassador cut in, "Just stop it. What do you want?"

"Oh, so quick to defend him," the Dream Lord remarked, "How long will that last, I wonder?" he glanced at the Doctor and gestured around, "How long before all this goes away?"

The Doctor stiffened, knowing that the man didn't mean just the TARDIS itself but the people in it too, the Ambassador especially, "Where did you pick up this cheap cabaret act?"

"Me?" he snorted, unfazed, "Oh, you're on shaky ground."

"Am I?"

The Dream Lord grew serious, "If you had any more tawdry quirks you could open up a Tawdry Quirk Shop. The madcap vehicle, the cockamamie hair, the clothes designed by a first-year fashion student...I'm surprised you haven't got a little purple space dog just to ram home what an intergalactic wag you are. And the secrets you keep, the lies you tell just to get by? Strap a lie detector to you and it would burst into flames. You know, the longer you keep them, your war stories, to yourself the more it's gonna hurt when they get exposed. You're burning your bridges faster than ever and you don't even realize it, you oblivious twat!" he took a sudden breath, smiling, calm again from his angry rant, "Where was I?"

"Um," Rory glanced around, seeing that the others appeared stunned silent, "You were..."

"I know where I was," the man waved off the human, "So, here's your challenge. Two worlds. Here in the time machine and there in the village that time forgot. One is real, the other's fake. And just to make it more interesting you're going to face in both worlds a deadly danger. But only one of the dangers is real. Well, to the humans at least," he laughed, "Your danger, Doctor, is far too good to keep in one world. Tweet, tweet. Time to sleep!" he waved at them as the birdsong began, the four staggering to try and keep awake, "Oh, or are you waking up?"

~8~

"Seriously?" the Ambassador huffed, having apparently fallen asleep in the old folk's lounge on the ground next to a sofa, angled oddly enough were it was as though she were sitting beside it, but slumped there so her cheek was wedged against the side of the sofa and so much so that it was touching her shoulder.

"Oh, this is bad!" the Dream Lord suddenly appeared, stepping into the now-empty room, dressed in a lab coat with an x-ray in his hand, "This is very, very bad. Look at this X-ray. Your brain is completely see-through, Doctor. But then, I've always been able to see through you, Doctor and, sooner or later, so will your precious Sadie. I wonder what she'll think when she finally sees the real you."

The Ambassador frowned at that pushing herself to stand and look at the Doctor. She knew the Dream Lord was saying what he was to get a rise out of the Doctor, to throw them off, but something inside her was telling her not all of it was for that reason. There was something else going on, something more. She didn't doubt the Doctor had many secrets, but it was starting to seem like he was keeping one that directly affected her and she was not happy about that.

"Always?" Amy cut in, however, catching something, "What do you mean, always?"

"Now then, the prognosis is this. If you die in the dream you wake up in reality. Healthy recovery in next to no time. Ask me what happens if you die in reality?"

"You die," the Ambassador cut in before anyone could ask, "It's reality."

"Oh she's a smart one," the Dream Lord nearly sneered, before laughing as he looked at the Doctor, "Shall we take bets on how long before she works out what you…"

"Enough," the Doctor gave him a glare, already knowing that the man had said enough to set the Time Lady on edge. The LAST thing he needed was for her to work out, or demand from him, what he'd done while they were in the middle of all this.

"Have you met the Doctor before?" Amy jumped in to try and help calm the Doctor down, "Do you know him? Doctor, does he?"

"Now don't get jealous," the Dream Lord taunted, "He's been around, our boy. But all that's about to come to an end, regardless, isn't it Doctor?" the Ambassador frowned at how the Dream Lord looked pointedly at her for that remark, before he sighed and focused on the others once more, "Never mind that. You've got a world to choose. One reality was always too much for you, Doctor. Take two and call me in the morning."

The Ambassador stepped over to the place the Dream Lord had been standing a moment after he disappeared, crouching down to touch the floor, searching for anything he might have left behind. Some holographic devices needed to have tech in that area to activate, others, far more advanced, didn't. It could help them determine who the Dream Lord was or what species at least.

"Ok, I don't like him," Rory muttered.

The Ambassador looked over at the Doctor, his expression was hard as he sat in the chair Mrs. Poggit had been resting in, his hands gripping the armrest so tightly his knuckles were white. He was staring down at the spot the Dream Lord had stood, a distant look in his eye as though he wasn't really seeing it, just…lost in thought. She didn't need to guess to know that the Doctor likely disliked the Dream Lord more than Rory did.

Amy stepped up, right in the path of the Doctor's line if sight, her arms crossed, "Who is he?" she demanded.

The Ambassador stood slowly at that, a deep frown on her face. While she was just as curious to know that, the way Amy had just demanded the information from him was quite rude.

"I don't know," the Doctor seemed to shake himself out of his thoughts, rubbing his forehead, "It's a big universe."

"Why is he doing this?"

"There are far too many reasons someone could or would do this," the Ambassador shook her head, it was true. She'd been the mediator in a number of negotiations, the reasons for why a person or people did things were far too numerous. Normally she would try to negotiate with this Dream Lord bloke, find out what he wanted, but he'd made it all too clear that his intentions were hostile and meant to harm and that had gone out of her realm of duty. Now he just needed to be stopped.

"Maybe because he has no physical form," the Doctor suggested, "That gets you down after a while, so he's taking it out on folk like us who can touch and eat and feel."

"What does he mean, deadly danger?" Rory asked, "Nothing deadly has happened here. A bit of natural wastage, obviously."

"Nothing happens here…" the Ambassador repeated, looking around, "There's nothing in this room, all the elderly have gone."

The Doctor quickly hopped to his feet and hurried out the door. Though the Ambassador caught a quick glance he'd thrown in her direction before he'd rushed away. She frowned at that, starting to now get the feeling that he was running out just to avoid her. She let out a huff at that thought, but followed Amy and Rory after him, catching up just on the road again, watching the children playing by the ruins.

"Why would they leave?" Rory asked the Ambassador.

"We don't know what danger we'll be facing in this world," she reasoned, "For all we know, they could be the danger, or the danger could be people just disappearing."

"But if they were the danger, wouldn't they have just attacked us while we were unconscious?" Rory countered.

"Good point."

"What I want to know is what you meant about Mrs. Poggit's act, Doctor?" Amy called over to the Time Lord.

"One of my tawdry quirks," he remarked, "Sniffing out things that aren't what they seem. So come on, let's think. The mechanics of this split we're stuck in...time asleep matches time in our dream world, unlike in conventional dreams."

"And we're dreaming the same dream at the same time," Rory added.

"So a communal dream," the Ambassador continued, "But there HAS to be a giveaway, there's always a way to tell you're dreaming, some sort of odd thing that's just too extreme to believe."

"Yes, there should be," the Doctor murmured, "It should be easy to find, but my mind isn't working because this village is so dull! I'm slowing down, like you two have," he pointed at the humans.

Amy suddenly hunched over, grabbing her stomach, and screaming, "Ow! Really. Ow! It's coming!"

The Ambassador blinked as both the Doctor and Rory began to freak out, arguing over which of them was best qualified to help her, which one was the 'actual' doctor, before deciding they could just try to catch the baby as it 'fell out' of Amy. She knew she was no expert in humans or their biology, but she was almost certain that labor didn't happen THAT quickly that a baby would be about to pop out within seconds of the pain starting. And she knew she wasn't a doctor or expert in medicine, but she also was fairly sure that that wasn't how a child was born, but just squatting there for someone to catch it.

As though reading her mind, Amy suddenly stopped, "Ok, it's not coming."

"What?" both Rory and the Doctor gaped at her.

"This is my life now and it just turned you white as a sheet," Amy pointed out at the Doctor, "So don't you call it dull again, ever. Ok?"

"Sorry," he murmured.

"Yeah," Amy gave him a pointed look before turning to walk off, Rory hurrying after her.

The Ambassador stepped up to him, blocking his path to follow Amy towards a swing set nearby. He stiffened at the move, looking far more frightened by being confronted with her than Amy giving birth. She looked at him a long moment, before crossing her arms and taking a breath, "You're hiding something from me," she began.

"Ambassador…"

But she held up a hand, "If there is one thing I've learned in all my time doing my job, it's not to rise to the bait of those trying to incite something," she informed, "There's a danger here, Amy and Rory are at risk, I'm not about to demand answers from you now, not with their lives on the line."

He let out a deep, relieved breath, "Thank you."

"But when this is over, Doctor," she warned him, "You ARE going to tell me the truth. Understood?"

He looked at her for that, his eyes so sad and regretful, but he nodded, and crossed a finger over the center of his chest in a promise.

She gave him a single nod for that and turned to head over to the swing set too, the Doctor hesitating to follow, catching sight of Mrs. Poggit by the ruins.

"Doctor?" Amy called, seeing him just standing there.

The Doctor could only frown, "I don't know about you, but I wouldn't hire Mrs. Poggit as a babysitter," he tensed as the woman in question turned, as though hearing him, to star at him, expressionless, "What's she doing? What does she want?"

The birdsong began to sound again just as he was on the cusp of working it out, causing him to look up in alarm.

"Oh, no, here we go!" Amy groaned.

A/N: Oooh, the Ambassador may learn what the Doctor's been hiding from her since the Byzantium soon }:) Wonder how that'll go over for her...

I feel like this was a bit of an awkward episode to write, for Sadie at least. Not much room to really explore their connection when it goes back and forth between worlds. But the fallout from this episode will be felt for quite a few chapters ;)

Some notes on reviews...

That was something I really wanted to explore with Sadie, a Time Lady who doesn't immediately vouch for the humans but looks at both sides and help BOTH come to a compromise :) But oh, the loss of Gallifrey is going to hit her hard, we'll see her struggle with it for quite a while :( Rory's definitely a little biased about Amy almost cheating, I feel like he probably sees it as, if the Doctor never came into Amy's life in the first place, Amy wouldn't be interested in him but be loyal to Rory. But he's slowly going to be observing the Doctor and how he reacts to Amy and understand it was certainly more on Amy's side. And Amy will definitely be talking to Rory about it, but I won't say when ;)

There'll be more in a later chapter about the non-interference policy in relation to Ambassadors, but a little about it now would be that the Ambassadors don't interfere in the sense that they are sent out by the High Council to implement changes. Most of the time they are requested by a planet or a situation as a sort of mediator, but also act as a representation of Gallifrey, because Time Lords were often thought of as wise and clever and would be the best people to help resolve a problem by those requesting their help. If they're so smart, they can work out a way both sides win. Other times they go to a planet to observe and learn about the culture there, to report back to Gallifrey and update their records. So they don't technically interfere but are more requested for aid and don't force the people to do anything, just make suggestions for help :)

At one point, when the loss of Gallifrey isn't so fresh, Sadie and the Doctor definitely will talk about their lost loves :( In this story he will have loved his wife, yes, just like Sadie loved her husband ;)

There isn't a set updating schedule for this story in terms of like 'every Friday' or 'every 10 days' or anything like that. I mostly rotate between 5 main stories so whenever my Big Bang Theory story is updated, the next Monday/Wednesday/Friday after would be when this story is updated. Tentatively, date wise, for this year, this story will be updated June 13 & 25, July 6, 18, & 30, August 10 & 22, September 3, 14, & 26, October 8, 19, & 31, November 12 & 23, and December 5, 17, & 28.


	6. Amy's Choice (Part Two)

Amy's Choice (Part Two)

The Ambassador silently cursed in Gallifreyan as she woke up in the TARDIS, sitting up against the console, but hunched over so her head was hanging down. She rubbed her neck, yet again, quietly vowing to stab the Dream Lord in the neck for the crick she was sure to develop in her own after all of this. She pulled herself up using a frozen lever on the console above her to see the Doctor was already up and moving about the console, trying to get SOMETHING to work.

"It's _really_ cold," Amy remarked as she moved over to them, rubbing her arms, "Have you got any warm clothing?"

"What does it matter if we're cold?" the Doctor spoke, sounding on the verge of snapping at the human, "We have to know what he is up to!" he sighed suddenly, rubbing his forehead, "Sorry. Sorry. There should be some stuff down there, have a look," he waved her off towards a small ramp that led down to a crate near a wall.

The Ambassador caught the less than pleased look Amy shot him before she turned to go check, Rory joining her. She eyed the Doctor a moment longer before sighing, "It's not their fault they can't work out what's going on," she murmured, "They're _humans_. We're Time Lords and this is tricky to work out even for us, which is real, which is the dream…"

"It's not that hard really," he muttered, "We could figure it out almost instantly."

The Ambassador frowned, "How do you propose we do that?"

He hesitated to speak for a moment, before sighing and looking at her, his head still slightly bowed, "You're going to need to trust me," he told her, "I know it's hard, the Dream Lord hasn't helped that, but, just for a moment, just a single moment, I _need_ you to trust me."

The Ambassador stared him down for his words, searching his eyes for something, before nodding, "Don't make me regret this."

He tried to give her a smile, but it was somewhat dampened by the knowledge that, whatever trust he'd gained, the small amount of it, was going to be obliterated once she learned the truth about Gallifrey when all this was over. Still, for just this moment, he could pretend that that wouldn't happen, he could pretend that he had her trust and wasn't about to lose it. He turned to her, lifting a hand slowly, so she wouldn't flinch or back away, so she could see what he was planning. He could see her tense the exact moment she worked out what he was about to do, but she kept true to her promise and was trusting him, even as he touched her cheek for just a moment before pulling away.

The Ambassador's eyes widened as she stared at him, her own hand quickly coming up to touch the same place he'd touched, a deep frown growing on her face at what that touch had revealed. She looked down at her hand and back up at him. She opened her mouth to say something but the Doctor put a finger to his lips.

"We need to check the other world first," he told her.

She looked confused for a moment, before her eyes widened, "You don't think…"

He could only shrug and offer a "Dream Lord, it's in the name, isn't it?" before turning to head around the console, moving below the glass level to dig around in a box, searching for something. The Ambassador turned to the console, trying to see if some of the controls that were meant to work even when the rest of the TARDIS was offline were still functioning, but it was too much to hope.

The Doctor rushed back a moment later, some odd device in his hand that looked like he'd thrown it together out of random bits of junk. He pulled a wire from it and stuck it to the console, to the monitor, just as Amy and Rory made their way back with blankets in their arms.

"Ah, Rory, wind," he handed Rory the device to wind for him as he focused on trying to get the monitor to work.

"I was promised amazing worlds," Rory murmured, "Instead I get duff central heating and a weird, kitchen wind-up device."

"Is that a generator?" the Ambassador eyed it, honestly not sure if it actually was.

"Yup, get winding," the Doctor called to Rory.

"What I want to know is why the Dream Lord is picking on you, Doctor?" Rory asked, "Why us?"

"Doctor, it's working," the Ambassador informed him, seeing the monitor flicker on, the image grainy for a moment before clearing to show them just drifting past the stars.

The Doctor pulled back from where he was fiddling to observe the scene.

"Where are we?" Amy asked.

The Doctor could only frown, "We're in trouble."

The Ambassador squinted as a particular star came into sight, very slowly but steadily growing larger and…not looking like a normal star, "That can't be a cold star…"

"It just might be," the Doctor muttered, rushing to the doors and throwing them open, only to throw a hand over his eyes at the blinding light that shot in, along with a blast of cold air. Well, now they knew why it was so cold in there, if the star was burning normally, they'd be at least a little warm, "That's why we're freezing. It's not a malfunction. We're drifting towards a cold sun. That's our danger for this version of reality," he shut the doors and hurried back to the console.

"This must be the dream," Amy reasoned, "There is no such thing as a cold star. Stars burn."

"And they can burn cold too," the Ambassador countered, "They're just very rare," so rare in fact that the chances of them just happening to pass one when the Dream Lord took over was next to impossible.

"We've only got about 14 minutes until we crash into it," the Doctor added, "But that's not a problem."

"Because you know how to get us out of this?" Rory asked, hopeful.

"At the rate we're drifting?" the Ambassador shook her head, "Humans would freeze to death before then."

"Then what'll we do?" Amy looked to them.

"We stay calm," the Doctor stated, "Don't get sucked in to it, because this just might be the battle we have to lose."

"Oh, this is so you, isn't it?" Rory huffed.

"What?"

"A weird new star, 14 minutes left to live, and only one man to save the day? I just wanted a nice village and a family."

"Oh dear, Doctor!" the Dream Lord suddenly spoke up from behind them, "Dissent in the ranks. Surprised it wasn't from her over there," he nodded his head at the Ambassador, "Does she still not know?" he sighed, "Here's a story for you, there was an old doctor from Gallifrey, who ended up throwing his life away. He let down his friends and..." he stopped abruptly, smiling as the birds began to sing again, "Oh, no, we've run out of time. Don't spend too long there, or you'll catch your death here."

~8~

The Ambassador wasn't even fazed when she woke up this time to find herself slumped on one of the swings, Rory having fallen off his, with her neck cradled in it, her body at an awkward angle. She just pushed herself up and took off running when she noticed the Doctor was already rushing towards the ruins across the street.

"Where have the children gone?" the Doctor asked, looking around, frantic.

The Ambassador frowned, searching, but the children were nowhere in sight. There was nothing there but grass, stone, and piles of dirt…and cloth? She slowly approached one of the piles to see children-sized clothing near it.

The Doctor crouched down by one, pulling out his sonic to scan it, rubbing his forehead when he realized where the children had 'gone.'

"Don't know," Rory answered, he and Amy only just reaching them, "Play time's probably over. You see," he turned to Amy, " _This_ is the real one. I just _feel_ it. Don't you feel it?"

"I feel it both places," Amy admitted.

The Ambassador tuned out the humans at that point, looking at the Doctor as he slowly stood, his back to the humans, sorrowful. She stepped to his side, Amy's words reminding her of his little experiment in the TARDIS.

"I can trust you one moment longer," she told him quietly.

He looked at her sharply for that, nodding and glancing back to see Amy and Rory weren't paying attention. He took a breath and reached out to touch her face, just as he had done in the TARDIS, for just a moment before pulling it back.

"And?" he asked.

She shook her head, confirming his suspicions, and looked around, on edge, expecting the Dream Lord to appear now that they'd both worked it out. It seemed like he was a fan of doing that, sending them off to sleep when they were on the cusp of working out his plan.

"What are you two doing?" Amy called, stepping over to the two aliens who had been strangely silent, "And what are those piles of dust?"

The Doctor could only shake his head, mournful, "Play time's definitely over."

"Oh, my God," Amy gasped, staring in horror at the piles of ash.

"What happened to them?" Rory shook his head, looking around at all the other piles and clothing scattered around the ruins.

The Ambassador stood, looking around, and spotted the elderly walking down a path towards the village, all of them together in an organized line, "Probably them," she nodded towards the mass.

"I know you're not really familiar with humans," Amy began, "But they're just old people."

"No," the Doctor agreed with the Ambassador, "They're _very_ old people," he looked at the Time Lady, nodding at her as they quickly headed down the steps of the ruins and towards the elderly, "Sorry, Rory, I don't think you're what's been keeping them alive."

"Hello, peasants!" the Dream Lord appeared just as the elderly lined up along the path to face them down, "What's this, attack of the old people? Oh, that's ridiculous. This has got to be the dream, hasn't it? What do you think, Sadie? Let's all jump under a bus and wake up in the TARDIS," he turned pointedly to the Doctor, "You first."

"Oi, leave her alone!" the Doctor cut in, glaring at the Dream Lord, doing his best to keep the man from even speaking to the girl. While the Ambassador had said she wasn't going to ask what he was hiding from her till this was over, that didn't mean he trusted the Dream Lord not to blurt it out.

"Do that again. I love it when he does that. Tall dark hero, 'leave her alone.'"

"Just…leave her," Rory tried to step up as well. He may not have known the Ambassador long, but she had been kind to him and reasonably sensible the adventure or two they'd had together, she hadn't seemed as excited for the trips as Amy or the Doctor had, which he appreciated since he was of the same mind.

"Yes," the Dream Lord sighed, disappointed, "You're not quite so impressive. But then again," he glanced at Amy and smirked, "I know where your heart lies, don't I, Amy Pond?"

"Shut up!" Amy snapped, "Just shut up and leave me alone."

"But listen, you're in there. Loves a redhead, the Doctor!" even as he said it, his gaze drifted to the Ambassador, who frowned and looked away. True her hair wasn't as red as Amy's, but it still had the right hue to it, "Has he told you about Elizabeth the First? Well, she _thought_ she was the first..."

"Drop. It," the Doctor stepped towards the hologram threateningly, the last thing he wanted anyone to know was the more 'intimate' details of his past, or what the Dream Lord was trying to pawn off as intimate, what he chose to share was just that, HIS choice, "Drop all of it. I know who you are."

The Dream Lord snorted, "Course you don't."

"Course I do. No idea how you can be here, but there's only one person in the universe who hates me as much as you do."

The Dream Lord smirked at that, leaning in just as much, "I bet there'll be someone who does even more when this is over."

The Doctor stepped back at that, swallowing hard and looking for all the world as though the man had just struck him, revealing a genuine fear.

"But never mind that," the Dream Lord waved it off, "Maybe you SHOULD worry about them."

They looked over at the elderly as they seemed to march right towards them.

"Hi?" Rory offered as they came to a stop.

The Doctor glanced at the Ambassador, giving a brief nod towards the elderly, as though asking if she wanted to be the one to speak to them, like she had with the Signora. This time, though, she gestured for him to continue as he'd looked as though he were about to speak before he'd turned to her. It made sense that he should speak here, the Dream Lord was clearly after him for some reason, it was his right to know why. That wasn't to say she wouldn't step in or ask questions of her own, but she would let him take the lead on this one. And after what she'd learned from the Doctor's experiment before, it wouldn't matter if she spoke or didn't speak to the elderly.

He nodded and turned back to the elderly, "We were wondering where you went. To get reinforcements! Are you all right? You look a bit tense."

"Hello, Mr. Nainby!" Rory tried to step closer, but the Ambassador reached out to grab his arm, stopping him.

"Rory, I wouldn't," she warned.

"But it's Mr. Nainby, he ran the sweet shop. He used to slip me the odd free toffee…"

The Ambassador, who had been looking at the elderly while Rory spoke to her, tightened her grip on his arm, "It really isn't…"

Rory frowned and looked over, his eyes widening as he saw the elderly had opened their mouths to reveal a large eye sticking out of it.

"There is an eye in her mouth!" Amy pointed at Mrs. Poggit, disgusted.

The Doctor quickly flashed the sonic screwdriver at them, "There's a whole creature inside her. Inside all of them. They've been there for years, living and waiting."

"That is disgusting," Rory muttered, "They're not going to be peeping out of anywhere else are they?"

"Which species are you?" the Ambassador wondered, taking a cautious step closer, now that Rory seemed to hang back.

Mrs. Poggit hissed at her, opening her mouth to try and spray a green mist at her, but the Time Lady just stepped back, unfazed. She'd seen far more disgusting things come out of the mouths of aliens.

"Run!" the Doctor shouted to Amy and Rory, who turned and quickly rushed off, leaving the Time Lords to face the other aliens, "Leave them," he put himself in the elderly's path to keep them from following, "Talk to us. Talk to us. You are Eknodines…"

"Really?" the Ambassador looked at him for that, surprised. She hadn't encountered Eknodines in her work, but she'd learned about them in school. Despite the situation, it was interesting to be able to actually come to know another alien race.

He nodded, "A proud, ancient race," before focusing on the elderly again, "You're better than this. Why are you hiding away here? Why aren't you at home?"

"We were driven from our pl..." Mrs. Poggit began.

"Planet by upstart neighbors," the Doctor guessed.

Then Mr. Nainby stepped up beside her, "So we've..."

"Let me guess," the Ambassador cut in, working it out, "Hidden away on Earth inside of these human hosts."

"No wonder they live so long," the Doctor commented, "You're keeping them alive."

"Did you tell them? What they'd be signing up for? Or did you forcibly take them? I can imagine they'd want a longer life, but a life that isn't theirs is no life at all."

Mrs. Poggit glared at her, "We were humbled and destroyed. Now we will do the same to others."

"So no to getting consent then," she sighed, if she didn't know the truth of this world, she might have reacted stronger. Right now, she was just tired and wanted it to be over. Real or not, her neck was aching in both worlds.

Just then a man appeared, calling out a 'Morning!' as he pushed his bicycle along…only for Mrs. Poggit to spew her green mist at the man, turning him to dust.

"You need to leave this planet," the Doctor threatened as the aliens displayed a true lack of care for human life.

The Ambassador reached out and grabbed his arm, pulling him back and running with him as the aliens screeched. While she may know the truth, there was no telling what the Dream Lord would do if he found out, their best chance was to go along with it and react as realistically as possible.

~8~

"I don't like this!" the Ambassador shouted as she and the Doctor stumbled down the road, the elderly chasing them, the Time Lords struggling to stay awake as the birdsong seemed to get louder and louder the more they fought it.

"There!" the Doctor jerked to the side, rushing for a butcher shop and yanking the door open to let her in, slamming it behind them.

"Oh, I love a good butcher's, don't you?" a voice called and they turned to see the Dream Lord, dressed as a butcher, behind the counter, "We've got to use these places or they'll shut down. But you're probably a vegetarian, you big flop-haired wuss."

The Doctor jolted forward, the Ambassador struggling to follow as he flicked the sonic on to open a door, "Oh, pipe down. I'm busy!" he shouted at the hologram, unable to focus enough to get the sonic to work.

"Maybe you need a little sleep," the birdsong got even louder.

"Stop it!" the Ambassador yelled.

The Dream Lord sighed and eased up on the song, "Just remember, if you fall asleep here, several dozen angry pensioners will destroy you with their horrible eye things. Speaking of…" he turned and moved to the front door, opening it to let the elderly in, "Come in. Come in. Yes, we've got lots at 'steak' here this week. Lots at _steak_. Get it?"

The Doctor panted, looking over to glare at the man, only to see the Ambassador almost completely out. He felt a jolt of fear strike him and it drove him into action, bursting up to sonic the door open.

"Are these jokes wasted on you?"

The Doctor ignored the man, reaching out to wind an arm around the Ambassador and haul her past the door with him, slamming it shut behind them, the two resting back against the door of the freezer. He quickly soniced the lock to keep the elderly out, slumping into sleep not a moment later.

~8~

"Argh!" the Ambassador groaned as she woke in the TARDIS. She didn't think there were that many places to fall asleep in the console room that could hurt her neck, but she'd found another one. She was quite sure the Dream Lord was doing this on purpose because she distinctly remembered falling asleep on the upper level of the console and now she'd woken under the console, half dangling from the Doctor's harness with her neck at an odd angle yet again.

She pushed herself up and moved to the upper level as the Doctor, Amy, and Rory woke as well.

"Ah, it's colder," Amy murmured, clutching one of the four blankets she'd found to her chest.

"We have to agree, now, which is the dream," the Doctor turned to Amy and Rory.

The Ambassador gave him a frown for that, they both knew the exactly what was going on with the worlds and while she understood keeping appearances because the Dream Lord could be watching, this was a little odd to her.

The Doctor caught her glance, "We have to agree which battle to lose."

It took her more than a moment to understand what he meant. They were going to have to die, likely in both realities, but they couldn't exactly tell the Humans that with the Dream Lord listening in and able to send them to sleep whenever he wanted. But it would be unfair to put the humans through that sort of trauma. He was giving them the choice to pick the way they wanted to go, the one that would make them less afraid, make it easier on them. Because once they had 'died' once, the second time, knowing they'd be waking up after, wouldn't be as bad. Once they 'died' it would hopefully mean the Dream Lord would back down and leave so they could do it all again without interference.

"It's this, here," Rory chose.

Amy nodded, "He could be right. The science is all wrong here, burning ice?"

"No, no, no ice can burn, sofas can read, it's a big universe," the Doctor reminded them.

"Ok, which world do you think is real?"

"This one," the Doctor said, the same time that the Ambassador called, "The village."

Amy groaned as the Time Lords disagreed.

The Doctor looked at the Ambassador with a frown, not sure what she was trying to say with her choice, that she preferred to live somewhere else than the TARDIS, that she was choosing something not him, or if it was something else.

"Freezing to death is a terrible way to die," was all she said quietly.

The Doctor nodded, he hadn't thought of that. He was pleased to know she'd gotten what he'd been trying to say earlier. But now he was realizing she was right, it would be far more terrible for the humans to slowly freeze to death than to go instantly with the green mist the elderly were spewing.

He checked his watch, "Nine minutes till impact."

"What temperature is it?" Amy asked.

"Outside? Brrrr. How many noughts have you got? Inside? I don't know but I can't feel my feet and...other parts."

"I think all my parts are basically fine," Rory patted his chest to check himself.

"I'm alright," the Ambassador added, crossing her arms at the chill she could still feel through her coat and gloves.

"Can't we call for help?" Rory looked between the Time Lords as he held up the phone from the console.

The Doctor rolled his eyes as he took it from Rory, "Yeah, the universe is really small, bound to be someone nearby!" he tapped Rory on the head with it before placing it back on the console.

"Put these on, all of you," Amy stepped over, handing the Time Lords a blanket each with a hole cut into the middle of it, a makeshift poncho. She threw one over Rory and then herself as the Time Lords followed suit.

"Oh, a poncho," Rory mumbled, "The biggest crime against fashion since lederhosen."

"Well if we're going to die, let's die looking like a Peruvian folk band."

"We're not going to die."

"No," the Ambassador agreed, sending a look to the Doctor, "We're not."

"But our time's running out," the Doctor murmured, they needed to figure out what game the Dream Lord was playing and how to stop him before this 'ended' in case he tried to do the same all over again, "If we fall asleep here, we're in trouble."

"At least we'd fall asleep together," the Ambassador remarked.

"The Dream Lord is switching us between the worlds. But what's the logic?" and really what WAS the logic, the Dream Lord could just as easily have put them through this trauma in just one world…

"Nice thought, veggie," the Dream Lord remarked, "But I like Sadie's much better, you've all been a nice little team through all of this. So let's divide you up, that way I can have a little chat with our resident Time Lady," he eyed the Ambassador, "Maybe I'll keep her, and you can have Red and Beaky to yourself for all eternity, should you manage to clamber aboard some sort of reality."

The Ambassador looked over at the Doctor, Amy, and Rory as they began to stagger, the Doctor trying to cover his ears again, so she knew they were hearing the birdsong once more, even though she was not. The Dream Lord truly was going to try and separate them.

"Ambassador…" the Doctor called over to her, now understanding why there were two worlds and not one, easier to get one of them alone in, "Don't worry, we'll be back."

The Ambassador could only watch as they sank to the floor, unconscious.

"Oh, dear Sadie…" the Dream Lord smirked, "We're going to have fun aren't we?"

The Ambassador merely glared at him.

~8~

The Doctor woke with a gasp, turning over quickly to see the Ambassador beside him, completely unconscious. She was half resting on a crate next to him, her head on a smaller box on top of that. He winced at the angle, that would not be comfortable for her neck when she woke up. He pressed an ear to the door, listening and sighing when he heard the elderly shuffling around outside, waiting for them. He stood, crouching down to lift the Ambassador half over his shoulder, keeping one arm locked around her legs. He knew it wasn't the greatest position to carry someone in, especially if he was going to have to run with her, but he needed to be able to just get out of the butcher's first.

He grabbed the sonic in his other hand, taking a breath, "Ok," he nodded to himself.

He flicked the sonic on, unlocking the door, and quickly stuck an arm out to overheat the lightbulbs in the ceiling till they shattered. He used the distraction and the suddenly loss of power to bolt out, pushing past their confusion and out into the street. He didn't get far before he saw one of the elderly had gotten to a person and was trying to attack a man standing by an old VW bus.

He hurried over as fast as he could with the Ambassador in his hold and used the sonic to open the side of it, placing her in while the elderly was distracted. As soon as she was safe, he turned and shoved the elderly person away, "Get in!" he shouted at the human, he himself moving into the driver's seat, "You couldn't live near the shops, could you?" he muttered as he took off, driving through the town.

He gripped the wheel tightly, seeing a few more people being encroached upon by the elderly. He let out a groan but turned the bus to them and went to help, scaring the elderly away with his quick approach, shouting for them to get in while the other human opened the side door for them.

It happened again when he spotted a small family being attacked as well and hurried to help…

~8~

The Ambassador shivered slightly as she tugged the makeshift poncho closer to her, sitting on one of the console steps, observing the Doctor, Amy, and Rory, watching over them until the Dream Lord made his next move. He had disappeared the moment the others had fallen asleep, she assumed it was to check in on their goings on in the other world, but she knew it would only be a matter of time before he came back.

And speak of the devil, "Dear old, Sadie…"

"The Ambassador," she muttered, irritated, as the Dream Lord appeared near her.

"I'm honestly surprised he's still here," the Dream Lord remarked, nudging the Doctor with his foot, "I'd have thought you'd kill him by now."

The Ambassador glared at her, "I may not count him a friend, but I have no desire to kill the Doctor," she defended, "There aren't many of us left."

"Oh, yes, yes, that's true, so few of you Time Lords living…two really," he gave her a pointed look, "But you guessed that already, didn't you? Clever old Sadie…"

"It is _the Ambassador_ to you," she stated firmly, "And yes, I guessed as much."

There was always a buzz in the back of her mind, a connection to her people. No matter how far she went from the planet, it was always there. It was silent now, too silent, and the Doctor had made enough comments about it for her to gather the rest. She and the Doctor, the last two Time Lords in existence. The planet was gone, she'd looked into it in the TARDIS records and monitor, she hadn't believed that it was all gone, but it was. The planet was nowhere, destroyed so completely that there was nothing left.

"Yes…and you haven't wondered _why_?"

The Ambassador shot him a glare, "There was a War, I was there, I was in the thick of it. The Daleks are vicious and…"

"And no one else from Gallifrey survived?" the man cut in, "Not a single soul. No one. Just…the Doctor."

She stood to face the man, about to argue that the Doctor hadn't been on the planet or fighting in the War and that was why, how she had fallen through a crack in time...before she recalled his earlier comment that the Doctor HAD been on Gallifrey during the war, and the Doctor hadn't denied it. She sighed, "Enough with the riddles, just tell me what you want to say and then leave me alone."

"Oh, my poor girl," he sighed, actually sounding genuinely sorrowful, "You won't want to be alone with him," he spat the last word with a fierce glare at the Doctor, "You asked him to tell you the truth, when this is over," he looked at her, surprising her momentarily, "But do you _really_ think he will? It falls to me."

"How can I know that what _you_ tell me is the truth either?" she challenged, "You clearly hate him.

"I suppose that'll be up to you," he smirked darkly, "But if I hate him as much as you think I do…the best revenge against him would be to tell you the truth, about the war, about how it ended, and how a mad old doctor had never been _less_ of a doctor than that day..."

~8~

The Doctor quickly pulled the VW up to the front of a church, ushering everyone else out, "Everybody, out, out, out! Into the church, that's right. Don't answer the door."

As soon as they were all out, he headed back for the village, racing for Amy and Rory's cottage. He looked into the rearview mirror, wanting to check on the still-sleeping Ambassador, and nearly swerved off the road when he saw the Dream Lord sitting beside her but smirking at him.

"It's make your mind up time in both worlds," the Dream Lord began, "And with poor Sadie resting her eyes…I must say, Doctor, this world is looking more appealing."

"What's that supposed to mean?" the Doctor snapped, but the Dream Lord only laughed, "If you're not going to be helpful then stuff it. I need to find my friends."

"Friends?" the man outright laughed at that, "Is that the right word for the people you acquire? Friends are people you stay in touch with. Your friends never see you again once they've grown up. The old man prefers the company of the young, does he not? Ooh," he paused at a new thought, "No, that's not so true anymore is it? This old man is going to prefer the company of just one person, won't he? One person in all the universe and damn the others."

"That won't happen," the Doctor swore as the Dream Lord disappeared, pulling up at the cottage only moments later to see the elderly already there and basically laying siege to it.

"Ok…ok…" he muttered to himself, trying to find a way in. He spotted one, but looked back at the Ambassador, not sure how he could get her into the house too. He looked back and forth, inwardly battling himself, before he took a deep breath, "I'm sorry," he murmured, before getting out of the car and rushing for the backside of the house. He had to hope that the elderly would see him and not think to check the car.

He nearly cheered when he spotted a ladder lying on the ground at the back of the house. He got to work, lifting it up and scaling it to the nearest window…and toppled right into the room in a rather ungraceful landing, "It's alright!" he called, "I had to stop off at the butcher's."

"What are we going to do?" Rory asked, he and Amy barricaded into the room.

"I don't know. I thought…"

"Hold on, where's the Ambassador?" Rory looked to the window as though she'd be following any moment.

"She's um…held up," the Doctor offered, "She's still trapped in the TARDIS."

Amy gasped, her hand flying to her stomach, "I think the baby's starting."

"Honestly?" Rory turned to her incredulously.

"Would I make it up at a time like this?!"

"Well, you do have a history of..." he cut himself off at the glare she sent him, "Being very lovely," he winced as Amy screamed in pain, "Why are they so desperate to kill us?"

"They're scared?" the Doctor threw out a reason, "Fear generates savagery?"

The three of them jumped when a garden gnome flew through the window. Rory scrambled to his feet and rushed to check that they were still safe. He stumbled back as Mrs. Poggit appeared in the window, having climbed up the ladder after the Doctor and shot the green mist at him, striking him in the chest.

He groaned and fell to the floor, Amy hurrying to his side as the Doctor rushed to knock Mrs. Poggit away with a lamp, being sure to turn the ladder to the side, away from the house, to give them a little more time before the other elderly tried to use that same method.

"Rory!" Amy cried as the Doctor spun back around. The human was on the ground, cradled in Amy's arms as he began to dissolve into dust.

"No!" Rory gasped, "I'm not ready."

"Stay."

"Look after our baby…"

"No!" Amy shouted as Rory dissolved completely, "No. Come back. Save him," she looked to the Doctor imploringly, "You save everyone. You always do. It's what you do."

"Not always," he admitted regretfully, "I'm sorry."

"Then what is the point of you?!" Amy sobbed, turning back to the pile of dust and gently touching it. She allowed herself only a moment to mourn before she pulled herself to her feet using a nearby dresser, "This is the dream. Definitely, this one. Now, if we die here, we wake up, yeah?"

"Unless we just die," he warned her.

"Either way, this is my only chance of seeing him again. This is the dream."

"How do you know?"

"Because if this is real life, I don't want it. I don't want it."

This wasn't how the Doctor had hoped this would go, but he nodded and followed Amy out of the room, out of the cottage…where the elderly just meandered around and did nothing to stop them.

"Why aren't they attacking?" Amy asked, her voice hoarse.

"Either because this _is_ just a dream, or because they know what we're about to do," the Doctor offered, heading for the VW bus, only to stop short when he saw nothing but a pile of dust resting in the back of the bus, where the Ambassador had been.

He swallowed hard, having to physically shake himself to remember this was _a_ _dream_ , that the Ambassador was perfectly safe in the TARDIS…the one about to crash into a cold star…

"Come on," Amy muttered, getting into the driver's seat, "This isn't the real world. It can't be. Rory isn't here. I didn't know. I didn't, _I didn't_ , I honestly didn't, till right now. I just want him."

The Doctor just nodded, getting in the passenger's side, ignoring the Dream Lord as he stood there, smirking.

"I love Rory, and I never told him, but now he's gone."

The Doctor didn't say a word as Amy started up the bus…and floored it toward the house…

~8~

Amy, Rory, and the Doctor slowly woke to find themselves back in the TARDIS, a thick layer of ice covering everything. It was so cold, they could barely move, barely shift their body or stretch out an arm, hardly talk. The only one standing was the Ambassador, just beside the console, not looking at any of them, though she had a hand on one of the levers. It was probably just the frost and the ice, she was as frozen in place as they were.

"So," the Dream Lord appeared, "You chose this world. Well done. You got it right. And with only seconds left. Fair's fair. Let's warm you up," he waved his hand and the power slowly came back on, the TARDIS beginning to move farther away from the cold star, "I hope you've enjoyed your little fictions. It all came out of your imagination, so I'll leave you to ponder on that. I have been defeated. I shall withdraw. Farewell."

The Doctor slowly began to get to his feet as the Dream Lord disappeared, struggling to do so with the chill in his bones. He could hear Amy and Rory speaking off to the side, caught a glimpse of them hugging, but his attention was on the Ambassador who hadn't said a word, just typing something into the console now that she could move again.

"Ambassador?" he called cautiously, realizing the programming she was putting in.

But she didn't say a word, just pulled the lever, blowing up the TARDIS as their worlds went black…

~8~

Amy and Rory stepped into the TARDIS console room, everything back to normal, or normal enough. The Ambassador was at the controls, fiddling with a few things, probably checking to make sure everything was alright while the Doctor stood nearer the doors, examining something in his hand.

"Any questions?" the Doctor called as the humans drew nearer. He was trying very hard to keep his attention off the Ambassador, she hadn't said a word to him since they woke up.

"What happened?" Rory asked, "I thought we beat the Dream Lord but then…" he glanced back at the Ambassador and to the Doctor.

He gave a tense smile, "Blew up the TARDIS," he explained, "The Dream Lord wanted us to choose between dream and reality, but he only had power IN the dreams, he couldn't affect reality. Both of them were dreams."

It was easy to work out. The moment he'd woken up to find his head pressed to Rory's, he'd jumped back, sure that his skin would feel like it was freezing and burning just where they'd touched. But it _hadn't_. Touching the Ambassador had confirmed it, the connection that flared between them when their hands had touched that first time was gone. It was like a normal touch. And it happened in BOTH worlds. They'd been trying to work out what his ultimate goal was...and now he knew. The way the Ambassador was acting, the Dream Lord had wanted her to know the truth.

It was his own worst fear, something he didn't want to ever come out, and the Dream Lord knew it. This was the Dream Lords way of forcing him to confront it, by making it happen.

Amy nodded, understanding, "And what's that?" she gestured to a few specks of shimmer in the Doctor's palm.

"A speck of psychic pollen from the candle meadows of Karass don Slava. Must have been hanging around for ages. Fell in the time rotor, heated up and induced a dream state for all of us," he moved to the doors, opened them and blew the specks away.

"So that was the Dream Lord then, those little specks?" Rory asked.

"No, no. No. Sorry, wasn't it obvious? The Dream Lord was _me_. Psychic pollen, it's a mind parasite. It feeds on everything dark in you. Gives it a voice, turns it against you. I'm 907. It had a lot to go on."

"But why didn't it feed on us, too?" Amy frowned.

The Doctor shrugged in an answer, "Darkness in you pair? It would've starved to death in an instant. I choose my friends with great care. Otherwise I'm stuck with my own company, and you know how that works out."

"Ok, but what about the Ambassador?" Rory added.

"My TARDIS, my psychic connection."

"And those things he said about you," Amy continued, "You don't think any of that's true?"

The Doctor's gaze flashed to the Ambassador, seeing her flinch at what Amy had said, so he quickly diverted her attention, "Amy, right now a question is about to occur to Rory," he spun her around to face the other human, "And seeing as the answer is about to change his life, I think you should give him your full attention," he gave her a gently push towards Rory, stepping away to join the Ambassador up at the console as the two humans discussed something quietly, flicking a few buttons and pulling a lever before he spoke, "Ambassador…"

"Don't," she cut in, though her voice shook, "I am _not_ having this conversation around them."

He could only nod at that, glancing at the humans quickly, fidgeting and wringing his hands as he waited. He couldn't help his hearts racing, his stomach churning, he didn't know, he realized, he didn't know what the Dream Lord had said to the Ambassador while he'd been in the village-world. The Dream Lord was him, but his subconscious, and he couldn't remember it while he was conscious.

Though he had a feeling, a gut wrenching feeling, that he knew exactly what the Dream Lord had said.

He quickly clapped his hands when Rory and Amy kissed, "Well, then, where now?" he urged, needing them to pick somewhere, to get out of the box or get out of the room, needing privacy, "Or should I just pop down to the swimming pool for a few lengths? Or Leadworth Registry Office?" He'd managed to set the TARDIS down there just moments ago.

"I don't know," Rory shrugged, "Anywhere's good for me. I'm happy anywhere. It's up to Amy this time. Amy's choice."

"Actually, I'm knackered," Amy said, "Nearly freezing to death and nearly giving birth is exhausting. Is it ok if we just go have a nap?"

"Fine, fine, perfectly fine," the Doctor agreed, gesturing to the steps that would lead to the hall, "We'll call you if anything interesting comes up."

"Yeah, but not TOO soon," Amy warned, yawning and betraying exactly how tired she really was.

The Doctor gave a small salute at that, waiting till they had disappeared into the hall before he glanced at the rotor, "A little privacy, old girl?"

The box hummed, as though understanding him, and the path to the hall disappeared, ensuring Amy and Rory wouldn't be barging in or hear what was about to happen.

He swallowed hard and turned to face the Ambassador as the woman stood beside the console, her arms straight at her sides, her hands in fists, her back straight but her shoulders slumped slightly as she looked at him, tears barely held in her eyes.

It didn't take much to know his worst fears were correct.

"He told you, didn't he?" he asked, though his voice was so soft and small it was almost unrecognizable to him.

The Ambassador opened her mouth to speak, but the words seemed to get caught in her throat, "Tell me…" she managed to choke out, "Tell me it's not…" she tried to take a breath but a tear fell from her eye instead, "Tell me it wasn't true," she finally spoke, "Tell me he was lying."

Her voice was hard despite the way it shook, the way it broke, the raw agony he heard in her voice as she literally begged him to tell her it was a lie.

Perhaps that was why he couldn't speak for a good minute, just staring at her, taking her in and knowing the Dream Lord was right…not only was he going to lose her trust, he was going to lose her, and he'd only just gotten her. He could lie, he knew, but it would serve no purpose at all.

"Doctor!" she snapped, "Tell me it wasn't you," her face fell as she even thought about what the Dream Lord had said, "That it was the Daleks. That THEY destroyed Gallifrey. Not…not…" she couldn't say more.

"I'm sorry…"

" _Don't say that_!" she nearly shouted, "Just tell me _the truth_. You _promised_! Just…just tell me!"

The Doctor flinched and took a breath, "The war was…" he shook his head, stopping himself from trying to talk about the war, she'd been in the war, she knew what it was like, "The Daleks were winning, I HAD to…"

"You had to?" she scoffed angrily, "You had _to destroy our planet_?!"

"It was Gallifrey or the Universe!"

"That wasn't YOUR decision to make! The High Council…"

"The High Council was going to initiate the final sanction…"

"I don't know what that means…"

"They wanted to rip the vortex apart, destroy everything else in the universe so Time Lords could ascend and be the only survivors."

"So you decided to obliterate Gallfirey?" she shook her head, "To murder everyone on it? Every…every _child_?!" she looked utterly horrified.

He felt utterly horrified when he'd done it, he still did.

"It wasn't… _I didn't have a choice_. There was no other way."

She kept shaking her head, "You had _a TARDIS_ , you could have gone back and...and destroyed Davros before he even created those bloody Daleks and…" she cut herself off when she saw him flinch at that, "No…"

He could only give her a helpless look, "I couldn't…"

"You actually HAD the chance to stop him…and you didn't?" she sounded so incredulous he felt his hearts break.

Had he known, had he known when he'd first gone back to confront Davros right when the man had just started to create the Daleks, when he'd been in an earlier incarnation, just what the Time War would cost him…he would have, "I didn't know," he whispered, "I didn't know about the War then, what he'd do, what the Daleks would do..."

The Ambassador's face scrunched as she tried to stop her tears, " _You_ destroyed our planet, not the Daleks."

"To save the universe," he repeated.

She looked at him, almost panting for breath at how upset she was, "Did you even _try_ to _save_ them first?"

He could only stare at her.

The answer was clear in the fact that he was the only one left before she'd fallen through a crack. He hadn't. He hadn't given warning to anyone, he hadn't tried to get anyone off the planet first. Not his family, not his friends, not even a child. How could this man stand before her and call himself the Doctor when he'd...when their planet... _all those children_...and no one was left but him?

"You're no Doctor."

He winced at that, "I wasn't then," he agreed, "I couldn't be. That day...what I did...it was impossible to be the Doctor."

The Ambassador just stared at him, tears streaming down her eyes as she took him in, raw and vulnerable before her. She opened her mouth as though she were about to say something, blinking rapidly when the words failed her.

In the end, the only thing she could do was shake her head and turn her back on him, leaving him alone in the console room, hunched over and ashamed.

He watched her go, watched as the TARDIS brought the hallway back and she disappeared. He felt his hearts shatter, her tear streaked face appearing in his mind each time he blinked, knowing he'd caused her pain, knowing she now had the truth about him, about the sort of man he was, what he was capable of.

He took a deep, sniffling breath, quickly wiping under his eyes to try and keep his own tears from falling as his gaze drew to the hallway steps again.

The only comfort he could find in this moment...was the fact that she'd gone into the TARDIS and not out the doors.

A/N: I cried writing that last fight between the Doctor and Sadie :'( I think I rewrote it half a dozen times trying to get it right. I wanted it to reflect Sadie's devastation, but also the Doctor's grief and regret, to give enough of a defense to the Doctor that Sadie COULD one day come to understand why he did it, but also have her be too upset to really be HEARING what he's saying. She's just taken a massive blow emotionally. She's just come out of a war, but she came out at a point where the planet was still there and the people were still alive. Now they're gone in the blink of an eye and she's only finding out now that the man she was traveling with is the reason for it.

As far as the Doctor and Sadie know, the planet was destroyed. This isn't the 50th where we learn the truth, they honestly think everyone was killed. And, to Sadie, she cannot get past the fact that the Doctor did this without even trying to save SOMEONE from the planet. She doesn't know if he had enough time, she doesn't know at what point in the war he did what he did, she doesn't know if it would have even been possible to try, but she's too upset to really think about that just yet. To her: the Doctor didn't tell her the truth, he destroyed their planet/people, and he was trying to justify his actions.

She's devastated. I wanted her to be able to TALK with him and hear him out and really get HIS side of the story, but I didn't think it was realistic either. It's easy to TELL someone 'well you should have heard them out' but it's much harder to be in that emotional state and DO it. When you're THAT upset, it's hard to absorb what you're being told or give someone else a chance to talk till you've calmed down. She's not in the right frame of mind to really hear what he has to say and not think it just an excuse and not a true reason for his action.

It seemed like, in the 50th, certain Time Lords knew what the Doctor was going to do and, in the end, agreed to it. It seemed like SOME Time Lords knew what Rassilon was planning and did not agree to it. But, from what I saw, they were the high ups in the government, a council, not the foot soldiers. I highly doubt every regular Time Lord or refugee or soldier knew what was coming, so I couldn't see Sadie being in the know about the High Council's plan. In PC's era, it seems like more of Gallifrey knows what happened, but they had TIME after the war to learn about what he did. Sadie hasn't, she's come from right in the middle of it straight into loss :(

I hope Sadie wasn't too harsh here, I tried to keep her grief and her reaction to what she learned as realistic as I felt it could be. A lot of her talk about her past on Gallifrey is about not letting others bait you or to let them anger you and, for the most part, I think she's able to do that because she knows they're doing it for that reason or she has an idea of what they'll say, she has a purpose in being there and in a professional manner cannot react the way they want her to. But this is not a professional setting, this is not her thinking someone's telling her something to anger her, this is about her home, her loss, a lie being told by omission, and she tries, really hard, to keep it together and give the Doctor the benefit of the doubt. She begs him to tell her it's a lie, but it's not, and that's when she just can't not-react anymore. The loss and pain is still too fresh and enormous for her to hold back.

It'll take some time for her to process everything and sort through what she feels/thinks, but, like the Doctor noted, she didn't run out the doors but into the TARDIS, so there's hope ;)

Some notes on reviews...

Yup, a part of the Doctor told Sadie probably exactly what you think he did ;)

I want to watch the marathon, but I also don't have much time to :( I end up taking on most of my family's chores since I'm still looking for jobs, and then the applications take time, and walking our dogs every day, writing/editing for other stories too :( I'm aiming more fore one day buying the Classic Series on DVD, maybe on one of those sites where you get all hundreds of episodes for like a hundred dollars total instead of twenty per DVD lol :) That way I can watch it more when I have time, but it is an awesome promotion to have :)

I'm glad you like Sadie's dynamic with the Doctor :) I feel like it's going to be one of my favorite to write. It's similar to Mac in the sense that he's sort of going to be trying to win her over, but, unlike Mac, Sadie is really going to be against letting him for some time. But the Doctor has nothing but time on his hands ;) ;) The truth about Gallifrey will definitely put a dent in his plans, we'll see the aftermath of it for a few more chapters before they even start to work on it :(

I did look into , but it didn't feel like my sort of site. I only say that in the sense that, I feel like by having it as a monthly subscription type it would feel too much like people were paying me to write, or paying for special treatment. I know it has an option of like if you pay x amount you get a reward like a sneak peek at a chapter or an OC of themselves having a cameo or revealing a new story/OC to them, and it just never sat right with me that reward system. Because it wouldn't be fair for someone who is maybe a new fan who has the money to spend to get something for their money while a person who was maybe a fan forever can't afford it. And I'm also super paranoid about letting people see my work before I post it because of all the plagiarism that's happened in the past :( With the trouble I had a short while ago with even posting my work, it didn't feel right to have a page where people had to donate monthly if I couldn't get the work up on time. I know they can cancel it at any time, but if anyone's like me, they keep going in the hopes that 'it'll be up soon' and then you've wasted money for months with no payoff :( That's why I set up a Ko-Fi account instead, it's much simpler and smaller. There's no obligation or requirement, and it's a super small amount, a donation that's the equivalent of the price of a cup of coffee or 3 dollars. People can 'buy a cup of coffee' once or for each story or buy more than one cup or nothing, whenever and if ever they want. It feels more to me like a 'let's talk about your work over a cup of coffee' which is much more my style. And this isn't anything against people who use or support it, we all just have different styles and things that work best for us and Ko-Fi is more me :)

I fully understand, there's a part of me that really wants to focus on this story too, because I have SO much planned for each season of DW that I just can't wait to get to it :) But I felt bad because there were other stories I still had in progress that I hadn't been able to complete so the rotation it is lol :)


	7. The Hungry Earth (Part One)

The Hungry Earth (Part One)

The Doctor paced in front of the doors to the TARDIS, running his hand through his hair, constantly glancing over to the stairs that led to the hallway. Amy and Rory had disappeared to their rooms to prepare for their latest trip, Rio. It was, apparently, a place _Rory_ had actually wanted to go once upon a time. They hadn't gone anywhere since the Dream Lord had attacked, but Amy had come up to him a short while after their nap and asked him if they might go to Rio next as a surprise for Rory. He'd plastered on a smile and told them that yes, of course, they could go there, anywhere in space and time and if they wanted Rio, he would give them Rio.

The more he thought about it, the more he realized Rio would really be the best place they could go next. Especially if they went during one of the celebrations. It would be the best place to lose someone in a crowd, but it would also be the best place to travel through without much notice. He made a phone call to an old friend, now he just needed the Ambassador to join them so he could tell her. He hadn't seen her since she disappeared to her room the other day, had tried to stall Amy and Rory as long as he could, to keep them away from the Ambassador and give her time and peace and quiet. But he knew they would both be so excited that it would be hard to keep them away, they wouldn't stop asking questions about where she was and bothering her to join them. He had asked the TARDIS to send her a message about the trip, about having something he needed to tell her...he just really did _not_ want to have to do it.

He would give anything for her to stay with him on the TARDIS, but the way she avoided him made it clear she would rather be anywhere else.

He looked over when he heard footsteps approaching, not Amy or Rory, and saw the Ambassador cautiously entering the room. He almost wished he had let her alone to stay in her room as long as she wanted. She looks so exhausted and tired, her eyes still red as though he she had been crying, though her face was not splotched. She stood at the other side of the room, her arms crossed as though hugging herself, seeming to try and keep as much distance from him as she possibly could. It broke his hearts to see her in such a state, to know that he had caused her such pain. He wanted to say more to her, he wanted to explain himself and his actions, but he knew very well how people who were upset didn't tend to listen or think clearly, and he wanted to give her enough time to process everything he revealed to her.

"I'm sorry to bother you," he spoke quietly, "But Amy was insisting on this trip and I wanted to talk to you before we went."

"I don't want to hear anything you have to say," she told him, though she took a step closer but kept very near to the console.

"I know, but I think even you can admit you don't know the whole story. It's upsetting to hear, I know, but you deserve to know the whole truth. Outside these doors is Rio, it's a place on Earth with a number of very famous celebrations, packed full of humans. Amy and Rory will undoubtedly want to wander off and I'll let them, you and I can go somewhere quieter, we can talk, you can ask me any questions you want, and I will answer them truthfully. And after you know everything, if you still want to leave, I've called in a favor from a friend. An ex-Time Agent who's created a base on Earth. He'll be able to help you go anywhere else in the universe that you want to go, or you can choose to stay on Earth and help them and know that I will swear to stay away from the earth or whatever planet you choose to stay on if that's what you want. But we really _do_ need to talk first, I don't know much of the Ambassadors but I do know you were never to make a decision without all the facts. Don't make one now until you know everything."

The Ambassador looked away at that, calmer now that she had had a few days to absorb and process everything the Doctor had told her, everything she had learned from the Dream Lord. She knew that she had been very quick to ignore things he was trying to tell her, but it hurt too much and had been too much information at one time. She knew she hadn't learned everything, hadn't heard him out, as her duty as an Ambassador would have her do. He was right, whatever she decided to do next, she needed to have _all_ of the facts and hear him out entirely no matter how much she may not want to.

"You promise you'll leave me alone if I choose to leave?" she had to ask, honestly not believing him. He hadn't exactly proven himself willing to let her walk away from their connection, and yet here he was promising exactly what she'd been alluding to wanting.

The Doctor gave her a broken smile, clearly not wanting to make such a promise, but crossed his hearts anyway.

The Ambassador nodded only once in agreement.

The Doctor opened his mouth to say something more, but the sound of racing footsteps sounded from the hall, Amy and Rory rushing into the room after them.

"You're not serious right?" Rory asked, moving right over to the Doctor, clearly Amy had just told him where they were going, "We're not actually going to Rio are we?"

The Doctor cracked a small smile, plastering a wider one on his face, the last thing he needed was for Amy or Rory to realize something was off about him and demand to know what it was or refuse to leave his side, "Yes, yes, of course, we're going to Rio! Didn't you want to?"

"Well, yeah," Rory said, shaking his head just a bit, "I mean it was supposed to be Amy's choice..."

"Yeah, you stupid," Amy rolled her eyes as she joined Rory, linking her arm with his, "And I chose Rio, cos I know that's where you wanted to have our honeymoon..."

Rory smiled at her, "Seriously?" she smiled and nodded, "Alright, alright, yeah, Rio it is. When are we going?"

The Doctor glanced over at the Ambassador, pleased that neither of them had seemed to notice that the woman was a little more quiet than normal, not wanting them to start hounding her either. He began to back up towards the doors with a smirk on his face, before turning to throw them open with a cry of, "Behold...Rio!"

The humans quickly scrambled out of the TARDIS after him, the Ambassador following at a more sedate pace, but it became quite clear to them that the place they had landed was certainly _not_ Rio. Even the Ambassador, who had not known what Rio was like, could tell just by their expressions that this was not the place. The Doctor had said it was a mess of celebrations surrounded by people...this was a cemetery without a single living soul to be found.

"Nuh uh," Amy shook her head.

"Not really getting the sunshine carnival vibe," Rory added in agreement.

The Doctor frowned as he looked around, glancing back at the Ambassador, an expression on his face of not wanting her to think he had done this on purpose, "No," he glanced around as he stepped forward, frowning as he took in the surrounding area. He knew he had set the controls for Rio, there shouldn't have been any reason why the TARDIS would land there. His attention was immediately drawn to the ground, "Oh, feel that, though, what's that?" he bounced in place, "Ground feels strange..." he looked back at the other three to see they were all just staring at him with blank expressions, "Just me," he opened his mouth to say something to the Ambassador, an apology and offer to take them back into the TARDIS and go right to Rio as he promised, when something just passed her shoulder caught his eye, "Wait...that's weird."

"What's weird?" Rory asked as the Doctor rushed past him to go crouch down beside the grass of the graveyard, looking at it intently.

"Doctor, stop trying to distract us," Amy sighed, "We're in the wrong place. Doctor, it's freezing and I've dressed for Rio. We are _not_ stopping here," but the Doctor didn't even appear to be listening to her as he plucked a handful of the grass out of the ground to look at more closely, "Doctor! You listening to me? It's a _graveyard_! You promised me a _beach_."

"I'm certain he promised a lot of things," the Ambassador murmured, "He can barely keep a promise to himself, this doesn't surprise me."

That seemed to jar the Doctor out of his thoughts, for he turned to look at her over his shoulder, "Blue grass," he said, as though it explained his behavior, "Patches of it all round the graveyard."

"That means nothing to me."

"It should," the Doctor said as he stood, glancing over at Amy and Rory for a moment, "Earth, 2020-ish, ten years in your future, wrong continent for Rio, I'll admit, but it's not a massive overshoot."

"Doctor," the Ambassador began.

But Amy cut in, seeing two figures in the distance, on the other side of the small valley, waving at them, "Why are those people waving at us?"

The Ambassador rolled her eyes, not even needing to squint to see who the two people were, Time Lords had slightly better eyesight than humans did, "It's you and Rory."

Rory frowned at that, "No, we're here. How can we be up there?"

"Well those two are 10 years older," the Ambassador remarked, "You probably recall that you had been here at some point in your past and decided to visit."

"Humans, you're so nostalgic," the Doctor mused.

"If you are about to let them go over there, Doctor..." the Ambassador warned, shaking her head at him, at his complete disregard of the timelines.

"We're still together in ten years?" Amy asked.

Rory scoffed, "No need to sound so surprised!"

"Hey, let's go and talk to them! We can say hi to..."

"Doctor!" the Ambassador snapped, cutting into Amy's words.

He winced, understanding what she was trying to say, and not wanting to further destroy her tolerance of him, "No, best not, really best not. These things get complicated very quickly, and..." he trailed off, seeing something in the distance, "I know I promised we'd talk," he began, "But there's a big mining thing over there, and it shouldn't be, not of that size and not of that magnitude, not here on Earth. I just need to make sure nothing is going wrong, I just..."

"You're worried about the humans," the Ambassador cut in, and he nodded, "You realize what this makes me think about your care for our own people, don't you?"

He winced at her words, but nodded, understanding. She had seen him care more about the humans than he had about his own people, at least as far as she was concerned. He was ready to rush off and check on the humans when, as far as she knew, he had just abandoned his own people to death.

"I really can explain," he promised her, crossing his hearts one more time.

The Ambassador shook her head, as though she couldn't believe he was actually asking her to let him go when they had such an important talk to have, but she just waved him on. If she didn't let him do this, she could almost guarantee that he would talk or find some way to bring up the humans in his discussion with her, if she was going to get the answers she needed she wanted him focused.

He gave her a quick nod and turned to rush off, calling back to the others, "Let's go and have a look! Come on, let's see what they're doing."

Rory sighed as he watched the man rush off, "If he can't get us to Rio, how's he ever going to get us back home?"

"Did you not see, over there?" Amy gestured back at where she could still see her and Rory waving in the future, "It all works out fine."

"After everything we've seen, we just drop back into our old lives, the nurse and the kissogram?"

"At least you still have a life to go back to," the Ambassador murmured, but they both heard her, "Come on, we need to stop him from destroying anyone else's life."

Amy frowned at her words, "Ambassador, are you ok?"

The Ambassador turned to look at her, feeling herself get worked up by the question, "I've lost my family, my friends, my home, my planet, my entire life. I don't know, Amy, you tell me if I'm alright or not," she took a deep breath and held up a hand, preventing Amy from speaking, "If I want the truth, he needs to stay alive, so let's go and make sure the Doctor doesn't get into any trouble."

The two humans looked at each other, but started to follow her on her path after the Doctor.

At least until Rory noticed something on Amy's hand and paused, "Hang on. What are you doing with that?"

Amy look down at the engagement ring on her finger, "Engagement ring! I thought you liked me wearing it."

"Amy! You could lose it! Cost...a lot of money, that!"

The Ambassador let out a deep sigh as she turned to face the humans, "Amy go put the ring back in the TARDIS, Rory and I will keep after the Doctor, you can catch up later."

Amy rolled her eyes, but went to do as instructed, Rory walking up to the Ambassador as they continued along, "I was about to put it in the TARDIS myself," he told her.

"If it's a choice between having you helping me keep the Doctor on track or Amy," the Ambassador began, "I'd rather have the one who's actually sane."

Rory couldn't help the small smile on his face at being the preferred companion for once.

~8~

Rory and the Ambassador caught up with the Doctor just as he was standing outside of a locked gate, already flashing the sonic against it to break the lock.

"The sign says restricted access, no unauthorized personnel," Rory pointed out with a deep frown at the sign that was fixed to the gate.

"But we're not unauthorized," the Doctor smiled, pulling out the psychic paper to show them their new credentials.

The Ambassador did not look impressed, "I highly doubt that humans have a Ministry of Drills," she remarked dryly.

"Where's Amy?" the Doctor asked, glancing behind them.

"Putting something in the TARDIS," the Ambassador told him, "She'll catch up. Now, if it's all the same to you, Doctor, I would rather get this over with."

"Right, yes, of course," he gestured for them to step through the gate, opening another door with his sonic and leading them into a hallway, a frown growing on his face, "What about now, can you feel it now?"

"Doctor, I'm just about as clever as you, and I have no idea what you're talking about," the Ambassador muttered. It wasn't that she couldn't work out what he was going on about, it was just, right now, there were more important things for them to discuss. A large drill that the humans had clearly designed themselves was not very high up on her list of topics. Had it been clearly alien in origin, she might care a little bit more, but right now she had questions that she needed answered, and it just began to feel like the Doctor was stalling.

"The ground doesn't feel like it should."

Rory frowned as he thought about that, "Well, if this is 10 years in the future, maybe that's why? Maybe that's just how the ground feels now?"

"Good thought! But no. It's not," the Doctor looked up as a whirring sound started up, ringing out down the hall, "Hear that, drill in start-up mode, afterwaves of a recent seismological shift, and blue grass."

The Ambassador still looked unimpressed, especially when the Doctor took a bit of the blue grass out of his pocket and put it in his mouth to taste, only to immediately pull it off of his tongue. She shook her head, "If you have a sonic to scan things with why would you put it in your mouth?"

"She has a point," Rory agreed, "Why didn't you just conic it?"

The Doctor pointed as though he were about to say something only to lower his finger and turn back down the hall, "A better question, what's in..." he pushed open a door to see an older Indian woman standing in the middle of a room that had a large dirt patch on the floor, "Here? Hello!"

The woman spun around hearing them talk, "Who are you? What're you doing here?"

The Doctor pulled out the psychic paper once more to show the woman, "Ministry of Environment," the Doctor offered, a more established and realistic Ministry than that of Drills, "What're you doing?"

"None of your business."

The Doctor gave her a small smirk as he walked around the different monitors set up in the room "Where are you getting these readings from?"

"Under the soil."

"The drill's up and running again," another older man spoke as he entered the room, frowning when he saw the three of them standing there, "What's going on? Who are these people?"

"Sadie," the Doctor called as he knelt down beside the hole in the middle of the room, "Come look at this and tell me if you don't think this is wrong also."

The Ambassador rolled her eyes and moved over to look at what he was so fixated on.

"I'm Rory," Rory introduced, "And this is the Doctor and...um, Sadie?"

The Ambassador didn't bother to correct him this time, understanding that, in this situation, there would be no real reason for an Ambassador to be there as a representative of the Ministry, a doctor yes, an ambassador not so much. She frowned, however, when she noticed what had drawn Doctor's attention, the dirt in the middle of the room hadn't been made by digging from the top into the ground, but from the ground up to the surface, "Why's there a patch of earth in the middle of your floor?"

"We don't know, it just appeared overnight," the Indian woman shrugged.

"Good, right," the Doctor stood, turning to face the others as the Ambassador continued her observations of the hole, "You all need to get out of here very fast."

"Why?"

"What's your name?"

"Nasreen Chaudhry."

"Look at the screens, Nasreen, your readings," Doctor called has he moved over to the monitors, "It's moving."

The Ambassador frowned at the dirt and took a glove off one hand to try and feel the dirt a little bit more, whether there might be something in it or to the touch that could explain what was going on.

"Hey, that's specialized equipment!" the other man shouted, stomping over to the Doctor, "Get away from it."

"What is?" Nasreen asked as she noticed that monitors and information were, in fact, displaying movement from below the ground.

"Um...should that be happening?" Rory asked as he moved closer to the Ambassador, seeing a sort of steam starting to rise from the dirt.

"I don't know," the Ambassador answered honestly, not knowing enough about Earth to know for sure, "Does the dirt here normally do things like this?"

"Not that I can recall."

Before another word could be spoken, the ground began to shake, the Ambassador quickly making her way to her feet and stumbling back from the hole as it began to get bigger.

"The ground, the soil, the earth, moving, but how?" the Doctor looked at the monitor, "Why?"

"Aren't earthquakes at thing on earth?" the Ambassador called over to him, already moving Rory away from the dirt and closer to the doors.

"Not like this," the Doctor responded, "It's only happening under this room," he looked around as more holes began to form in the ground, "It knows we're here. The ground's attacking us!"

Nasreen scoffed, "No, that's not possible!"

"Under the circumstances, I suggest...RUN!"

The Doctor pushed Nasreen forward, towards the Ambassador and Rory already by the door, the other man made to follow but the ground gave way just under his foot and trapped him.

"Tony!" Nasreen gasped.

"Hold on!" the Doctor shouted as he made his way back to Tony's side, being the closest one to him at the moment. He had just managed to get Tony's foot out of the hole when the floor opened up beneath him, trapping both of his feet and quickly sucking him down to his knees, "It's pulling me down!"

He struggled for a moment, trying to get out, but only ended up getting pulled down more, right to his stomach.

The Ambassador, who had been holding back, hoping he could free himself, made her way carefully across the room to help, not willing to risk the other humans for him.

She managed to reach him just as he was pulled down to his chest, he reached out to grab her hand...unfortunately grabbing the one that was ungloved. The Ambassador shuddered, feeling a warmth shoot through her, sending a tingling up her arm and into her body.

"No," she shook her head, trying to twist herself so he could grab her other hand, but the Doctor refuse to let go, "Doctor, stop it!"

"Something is pulling me down," he warned her, ignoring her pleas, "Don't let go."

"Take my other hand," the Ambassador ordered him, knowing reactively that she couldn't keep this firm a hold on him when her mind was screaming at her to let go of him. She could faintly hear Rory ordering the other humans to shut the drill off, something about the integrity of the floor, he clearly thought the drill was the cause of the holes.

She was shaking as she tried to keep a hold of his hand but also trying to get him to switch to her other hand, the sensations flooding her from his touch nearly overwhelming her. She wouldn't be able to hold on much longer from the overload to her senses alone. She gasped as the Doctor was pulling down even more, so his shoulders were only just above the dirt.

"Something's pulling me," he told her, his eyes fluttering shut, "Pulling me down..."

"I can't pull you up like this," she warned him, actually squeezing his hand as she heard a slur to his words, hoping to jar him back to reality and past the sensations he was feeling.

He managed to open his eyes and smile at her, but she could see a lazy quality to it, an almost haziness in his eyes as he smiled, "What a way to go..."

With that response the Ambassador's insides froze, her heart clenching painfully in her chest...and her other hand came up to grip her wrist and yank her hand back, out of his hold, letting the ground take him.

She scrambled back away from the hole, panting, clutching her arm to her chest and shaking her head. She could feel the bitter cold that often came from letting go of him washing over her, almost causing her to cry out from the pinpricks of pain she felt. She was panting hard as though she couldn't get enough air, tensing every muscle in her body in an effort _not_ to react to what she had done. Everything inside of her was telling her she needed to get him back, dig through the dirt if she had to with her bare hands, return him to her. But she couldn't, she had to fight against that instinct, it would only make things worse if she gave in.

"Sadie?" Rory called as he made his way over to her, trying to help her up, now that the drill had been stopped, he assumed it was safe to cross the floor once more, "Sadie, are you alright?"

"What happened?" Nasreen called as she and Tony rushed back into the room, "Where's the Doctor?"

The Ambassador let out a breath, turning her head and rubbing it for just a moment before she allowed Rory to help her up using his grip on her elbow, "Something pulled him down into the earth."

"Is that what happened to Mo?" Tony asked, "Are they dead?"

She quickly pulled on her glove, trying to think of an explanation for this. She wasn't very familiar with Earth but she could at least determine what she knew of the situation so far, "You came in this morning and the ground was just like that, you turn on the drill and more holes open up, you turn off the drill and the holes stop appearing. And something inside the ground was pulling the Doctor down. There was nothing to indicate something in the other holes ready to pull people down, otherwise, Tony would have been pulled down too. It sounds like Bio programming, but that is far beyond Earth capabilities at the moment, it can't be that..."

"Bio what?" Rory shook his head, trying to follow.

"It's when you use bio signals to resonate the internal molecular structure of natural objects. It's only found on Jungle planets in the future, not earth in the now."

"Sorry, did you just say jungle planets?" Nasreen gave her an odd look.

"You're not making any sense!" Tony shouted.

"Because this entire thing doesn't make sense!" the Ambassador argued as she turned to face them, "But whether or not the ground was bio programmed, that's not what's important, what's important is that there's something living beneath the soil that can and will attack. We can buy ourselves more time to figure out what's doing the attacking but you need to turn off your drill again for us to do it."

"The drill is off," Tony told her.

"Then why can I still hear drilling?" she asked, before her gaze was drawn to the hole the Doctor had just disappeared through. She carefully made her way over to it and knelt down, holding her ear just above the patch of dirt, "Because there's drilling under the ground too..."

"That's not possible."

"So someone is drilling up?" Rory asked, just to be sure.

The Ambassador pushed herself back onto her feet, "Seems like it," she murmured, "But from how far down?" she wondered, making her way over to the equipment, "I need you to bring up your records..."

"Why?' Nasreen frowned, though she moved beside the computers.

"Just bring up everything and then I can explain," the Ambassador told her. Nasreen glanced at Tony, before shaking her head and doing as requested, bringing up everything they had learned and recorded about the drill during their time, "Ok," she frowned, examining the information, "Your drill has gone down 21.009 kilometers..." she stepped up and typed in a few commands, merging all the reports together into a more comprehensive scan of the area.

"Why did you drill here?" Rory wondered aloud.

"What?' Tony glanced at him.

"It's just, not really a place you would think people want to drill," he shrugged.

"We found patches of grass in this area, containing trace minerals unseen in this country for 20 million years," Nasreen remarked.

The Ambassador stiffened at that and turned to face them, "The blue grass?" Nasreen nodded, "For something to persist over 20 million years, usually it's intended to last that long, either as a monument or as a warning," she looked back at the readings, "And judging by this I'm guessing it's the latter, because a monument would usually be abandoned. A warning requires someone there to be warned. While you were drilling down, someone with drilling up," she pointed to the screen where there appeared to be three very narrow tunnels around the hole the drill was making.

"No, no, we've surveyed that area," Tony argued.

"What are they?" Nasreen frowned and pointed at the bottom of the screen, where there was a small blinking light.

"Your sensors are picking up a heat signal," Ambassador frowned at it, "But it's registering both hot and cold?"

"Looks like it's moving," Rory remarked, tapping the screen to show that it was, in fact, moving at a quite fast rate.

"Is there anyone else here besides you two?" the Ambassador asked.

"Just my daughter and her family," Tony answered, "The rest of the staff travel in."

"We need to move somewhere else," she told them, "They've already established a way to surface in this room. I don't want any of you here when it comes up, but I can't stay with you and talk to it. So I need to make sure you're all safe while I deal with this. At the rate they're going, they'll be here in about 10 minutes. So gather your equipment, we need to find somewhere else to go."

The humans seemed like they were about to argue, however Rory quickly got to work helping the Ambassador pick up some monitors and head out of the room after her, leaving Nasreen and Tony little option but to follow.

~8~

"How can something be coming up when there's only the Earth's crust down there?" Tony asked as he helped carry some equipment with Rory, following the Ambassador as she led them somewhere, with Nasreen following them and pushing wheelbarrow full of equipment.

"I don't know," the Ambassador told them, "There are a number of different subterranean species scattered throughout the Universe, it would be entirely possible for one of them to have made their way to Earth between 20 million years ago and now. Or it could be entirely human, we don't know."

"Who are you, anyway?!" Nasreen demanded, "How can you know all this?" before the Ambassador could answer it, there was a whirring noise and a red streak shot across the sky, "Whoa, did you see that?"

For a brief moment, the Ambassador felt as though she were back in the War, watching as the sky trenches were being put in. She couldn't help but think about her husband. She had been given notice of his passing, of how he'd perished in the War. The Daleks had trapped his platoon within a force field and let them suffocate to death. She had more than enough nightmares where she imagined what that must have felt like, imagining herself on the other side unable to break through. She knew what a force field looked like, and that was what she had just witnessed.

She turned and grabbed a small pebble off the ground, and hurled it as hard as she could the sky, hitting it exactly as she expected, revealing a force field made of red energy that flashed when it was hit by the stone.

"Force field," she murmured, "They've trapped us."

"Rory!" a voice called behind them and they turned to see Amy rushing over with a woman and her son. She hurried right to Rory and hugged him tight, "So apparently the graves around here are eating people, I'm not sure what that...Ambassador?" she paused from where she'd been turning to explain where she'd been, only to see her there and not the Time Lord, "Where's the Doctor?"

"It's not just the graves, it's the ground in general," Rory told her, "Something in the ground took the Doctor."

"What?!" Amy looked at them, "We have to get him back! The TARDIS should be able to track him down and..."

"Amy right now we have nine and a half minutes to get you lot somewhere safe so I can go talk to the thing that took him," the Ambassador interrupted, "That force field is trapping us in here and something is burrowing up towards the surface and I need to be there when it arrives. The Doctor has survived this long, I'm sure he can survive a little longer. Now everyone get inside that church," she pointed at one a few feet away, "Then we'll worry about getting the Doctor back."

~8~

The Doctor, still alive, but unconscious, was resting underneath the ground in a small cavern, a shadowy figure standing over him with a scanner in its hand...

~8~

The Ambassador truly wasn't sure if the church really would be a safe place for the humans to hide in while she dealt with whatever was coming to the surface. It was in a severe state of disrepair, filled with boxes that hadn't used, cobwebs and junk everywhere. But it would have to do for now.

"So we can't get out, we can't contact anyone," Tony's daughter was saying as she paced up and down the church while her father and Nasreen set up the equipment once more. Rory and the little boy, Elliot, were standing in the back with Amy as the humans tried to keep him distracted and calm, "And something, the something that took my husband, is coming up through the Earth."

"Sounds about right," the Ambassador murmured.

"No, stop. This has gone far enough. What is this?"

"She's telling the truth, love," Tony told her.

"Come on! It's not the first time we've had no mobile or phone signals. Reception's always rubbish."

"Look, Ambrose, we saw their friend get taken, ok?" Nasreen turned to her, "You saw the lightning in the sky. I have seen the impossible today, and the only person who's made any sense of it, for me, is her."

"Her?" Ambrose scoffed.

The Ambassador didn't dignify that with a response.

"Can you get my dad back?" Elliot asked.

The Ambassador sighed and rubbed her forehead, turning to face them, "I don't know," she told him honestly, "I don't know what's taking them, I don't know why it's taking them, or what they might do to them once they have. The only thing I can do in the next few minutes is try my best to keep it taking anyone else while I meet with it. After that, I'll try my best, right now we all need to work together and make sure you're safe."

"So tell us what to do," Ambrose stated.

The Ambassador shook her head, "Well we have about 8 minutes to secure this church. There's not many windows so we'll need to set up some sort of monitoring on the outside, phones and cameras and recording devices. We also need something that can trigger the systems, motion sensors, alarms, anything that can alert you to movement outside..."

~8~

The humans had worked surprisingly well together, the Ambassador could admit, all banding together and setting up video cameras and motion detectors all along the outside of the church. Nasreen had even managed to link all of the monitors together to appear on the equipment she'd set up. But the one monitor that was drawing the Ambassador's attention more than the others, what's the drill scanners, showing whatever was coming out of the ground, was getting even closer.

"We'll need a map of the village," the Ambassador looked at Nasreen, "So we can note where we put the cameras. Do you have one?"

"I can draw one!" Elliot offered, "I can't do the words though. I'm dyslexic."

"So was Walt Disney," the Ambassador remarked, even across the Universe, the man was famous, "He turned out alright," Elliot smiled at the information and nodded, running off to do his drawing, "6 minutes 40," the Ambassador glanced at the screens as Tony came up and added more cameras to another computer.

"There, got it working in quadrants," he told them, "Every movement sensor and triplight we've got. If anything moves, we'll know."

The Ambassador nodded, "I'm going to check the perimeter, make sure I haven't missed anything."

The two humans nodded as she stepped out of the room, making her way around church, and pausing when she saw a van sitting in off to the side. She walked over to it, leaning in to peer into the front and the back, examining it. It appeared to be some sort of food delivery truck, heated up front but chilled in the back. In the worst-case, the humans could use it to outrun whatever was coming from the ground.

"Oi!" Ambrose snapped as she approached, her arms full of gardening equipment, "What're you doing?!"

"What are _you_ doing?" the Ambassador countered, eyeing the equipment.

"Every little helps."

The Ambassador's eyes narrowed of the implication, "No weapons," she informed woman, "For all we know, whatever is coming could be an Ambassador itself, meant to investigate what's happening on the surface. I'm moving all of you humans to the church in the off chance that it's hostile, but it also stands a good chance of being peaceful. Until they show that they are an enemy, we will not attack offensively, is that understood?"

They didn't even know if it was an alien or human. If it was an alien, and it's been in the ground for millions of years, technically it had better claim to the Earth, the humans would have been the invaders. She didn't know what they were doing to the people that had been taken, whether it was like with the Signora and how she was endangering them, or whether or something else. Until she knew everything that was going on, she would try to keep things as peaceful as possible. She needed to secure the humans in case it was hostile, but she also needed to make sure that they weren't deemed a threat if it was peaceful.

"Now put those away, and go back into the church."

She didn't care whether Ambrose was glaring at her as she walked back to finish securing the church or not, she would _not_ let this escalate until she knew more about it. She was sure the Doctor would have taken the human's side and damned the alien, if it was an alien, and just assumed it was a threat, but she was nothing of the sort.

There was no proof that the humans taken had been attacked or harmed, and until there was, she would try to keep it as neutral as possible.

A/N: I was debating who should be taken below the surface in this story, but ultimately there is a reason it was the Doctor. I couldn't see the Ambassador wanting Amy and all her pro-Doctor views with her and the Doctor, so Rory was there instead. And I couldn't see her not trying to get Rory (or anyone) to an exit the moment the room started to shake so she wasn't in the right place. I also have some plans for how the Ambassador handles the 'threat' as opposed to the Doctor as well as some conversations she needs to have with Amy about some things ;)

Right now the Ambassador is begrudgingly doing all this. She wanted the whole story from the Doctor, she wants to leave, but she can't until he actually talks to her about it all now that she's calmer. But he's sort of stalling with this adventure and now she's got a room full of humans who might be in danger but there might also be an alien (possibly) coming up that was taking them and it should be sorted out first. She's not happy about it, but she's sort of being dragged along during it :/

Some notes on reviews...

I understand the decision too :( And we get to see how it affected the Doctor's entire life and view from that point on, but Sadie hasn't seen it :( Once she can really sit down and talk to him, understand what she may not know about what happened, she might understand too :(

Very good point about the war being locked, it brings up the question of just how much did the soldiers know about the war off Gallifrey and what their councils were doing about it ;)

It made me so sad to write that part too :'( Like the Doctor has suffered SO much from his decision, but to Sadie she's just not ready to hear his 'excuses' because they still had HOPE from the point she came from. She still had that hope that they could win, and then it was all gone in an instant, and then this man who she heard hadn't fought turns out to have been the one to destroy everything...it's too much for her :( She's really going to need time to hear his full story and be able to understand it before she can work on forgiving the decision and seeing how the consequences have affected him :(

I don't think I could ever give up writing ;) But I'm sorry I worried you! It definitely felt like the universe was conspiring against me to keep me from posting, but I'm taking it slower and hoping that slower and steadier will still win the race ;)

I'm glad you're enjoying the content! It's definitely a bigger interval between posting than I'm used to, but at least something is getting posted and I've managed to keep on track with it :) I hope you'll enjoy what's still to come ;)

The Silurians are definitely going to cause some tension with the Doctor and Sadie and the choices he'll make yup ;)


	8. The Hungry Earth (Part Two)

The Hungry Earth (Part Two)

The Ambassador stood before one of the computers set up in the church, checking scanners for how far away their visitor was when Elliott ran over with his map drawn in his hand.

"Very nicely done," she offered the small boy a smile.

"I don't understand what you're going to do," Elliot told her.

"Well, the plan is that when our friend arrives up here, I will go speak to them and see what they want."

Elliot frowned, "That's it?"

The Ambassador nodded, "Since I don't know exactly what they want, and I do know they've taken people in the past, I'm setting you all up here so you'll be safe while I talk to them. Sensors and cameras, heavily fortified walls, and only one entrance," she gestured to the door.

"What if they attack you?"

"Why do you assume the first thing they'll do is attack?"

"I don't know," he shrugged, "That's what they always do in the movies."

"Stay away from those, Elliott, they'll rot your brain," she said offhandedly, "You should never assume the worst of people, eventually they rise or fall to your expectations."

"So it's not monsters coming?"

"I don't know what's coming, to be honest, which is why you and the others will stay here, and I," she glanced at the timer that told her she needed to go start rounding up the humans that were still outside, "I will go speak to whoever's coming."

And with that, she turned to leave the church.

~8~

The Ambassador stopped short when she came upon the sight of Amy and Rory just within the graveyard, and rolled her eyes skyward as she shook her head. From what she could see of the two of them, Rory appeared to be trying to set up a camera on top of one of the gravestones, but Amy wasn't being quite as helpful as she kept picking the camera up in order to argue with him. She could hear something of their conversation, though she didn't really care to hear more. Apparently Amy was arguing that they shouldn't just be waiting around inside of a church or fidgeting with cameras, they should be finding a way to save the Doctor. The Ambassador scoffed inwardly at that, as though the Doctor himself wouldn't be doing the exact same thing.

Though she was quite sure that the Doctor would have been doing it for an entirely different reason than herself. She fully intended to speak to whichever creature was coming up to greet them, only going so far as to give to humans some sort of protection in the off-chance that their visitor was hostile. She could imagine that the Doctor would be hiding the humans away and creating some sort of strategy as though the visitor HAD to be hostile.

"If you're done with that you should head into the church," the Ambassador called as she walked up to them.

"I don't see why we're bothering with all these cameras," Amy remarked with a huff, "It's not like we'll be able to see anything, it's getting darker out."

Rory looked up at Amy's words, frowning as though just noticing it for himself, "How can it be getting dark so quickly?"

"My guess?" the Ambassador shrugged, "Whatever is coming up might be nocturnal, they may see best in the dark."

"So they're trying to make it easier to see us?"

"Or they might be trying to make it easier to hunt us down," Amy muttered.

"Is this what he does?" the Ambassador asked as she turned to Amy, "The Doctor, traveling with him, does it just make you assume the absolute worst in everyone else?"

"Why are you so set to assume the best in them?" Amy countered, crossing her arms.

"I don't have time to argue with you over this Amy," the Ambassador told her, "The fact that it's getting dark right now means that our visitor is almost here. We need to get back to the church so I can seal you in. Now let's go."

Without waiting for a reply or argument, she turned to lead the humans back to the stone building.

The Ambassador led Amy and Rory back to the church, only to see Ambrose already there, trying to get the door open but it appeared rather stuck.

"I can't open it!" she struggled against it, "It keeps sticking! The wood's warped."

Rory quickly moved to help the woman, shoving his arm against the door in an effort to get it to move. When it became obvious that it wasn't going to budge, the Ambassador and Amy hurried over to help also.

With their combined forces, they were able to shove the door open enough to get inside, the Ambassador quickly pulling the door back to shut it. She just wanted to check on the humans first, make sure they were all set up, remind them that they were to stay in that church while she made her way out to discuss things with their visitor. They reached the room where Tony and Nasreen were set up around the computers, just as the ground began to shake once more as it had in the drill room.

The Ambassador looked over at one of the computers that was reading the hot and cold signature and hurried over to it, "Let me just see if I can find where it's coming up..." she had only managed to type in a few commands, to narrow down the field, when the shaking came back causing items to fall off the shelves and the computers to spark when the power went out.

"No power," Tony murmured.

"Yes, I can see that," the Ambassador stated, "I just don't know if it was intentional or an accident."

"My bet is they did it on purpose," Amy muttered.

"What do we do now?" Rory spoke quickly, trying to keep the two women from bickering once more.

"WE are not doing anything," the Ambassador reminded him, "YOU are all going to stay here, keep the door shut, and I am going to go out there and clear up all of this confusion."

"Right," Rory nodded, turning to look around at the other humans, more than happy to not have someone expecting them to rush out into danger like he was sure the Doctor would. This was his area of expertise, taking care of other people, "Is everyone ok? Is anyone hurt?"

There were a few calls from the other humans, all assuring him they were fine, when another rumbling sounded.

"What was that?" Amy tensed, looking around.

"It's like the holes at the drill station," Tony remarked.

Nasreen instantly turned to the Ambassador, "Is this how they happened?"

"Look," the Ambassador turned to Nasreen, "Despite what the Doctor may have told you, we are not from any of your Ministries. I don't know what is going on right now, but I am about to find out."

Just as the banging noise stopped, the Ambassador made her way over to the main door, trying to push it open once more but it was just as stuck as when they had been trying to get in.

"Where's Elliot?" Ambrose called behind her, just seeming to realize now that her son is not in the room with them, "Has anyone seen Elliot? Did he come in? Was he in when the door was shut? Who counted him back in? Who saw him last?"

"If he's not in here, then he's out there," the Ambassador reasoned, as far as she knew Elliot had been in the church when last she saw him, "Help me get this door open and I can go out and find him..."

As though hearing her words, there was a banging noise just on the other side of the door, as Elliot himself began to call out, "Mum! Grandpa Tony! Let me in!"

"Elliot!" Ambrose shouted as she quickly ran to the door to help the Ambassador try to pull it open.

"Let me in."

"He's out there! Help me."

"Open the door! Mum! There's something out here!"

"Push, Elliot, push, Elliot!"

Tony and Rory immediately joined them at the door, struggling to pull it open as a little boy continued to cry out.

"Mum!"

"Hurry up!"

"...mummy?"

"Come on!" Tony grunted as he managed to get enough of a grip on the door to yank it back just enough for them to squeak through.

"I said stay in the church!" the Ambassador shouted as Ambrose pushed past her and ran out into the darkened graveyard looking for Elliot, but the boy was nowhere to be seen.

"Where is he?" ambrus looked around in despair, rushing further into the graveyard, Tony and the others behind her, "He was here. He was here! Elliot!"

"No, no, stop, get back to the church!" the Ambassador continue to try and usher them back. They didn't know if whatever was coming up from the earth was what had taken Elliot, but the state Ambrose was in told her that whatever they came upon the woman was likely to attack first and ask questions later. It would be of no help to anyone if they came across as hostile.

She looked over when she heard Ambrose screaming, to see she had found something on the ground, headphones of some sort that Elliot had been wearing earlier. She let out a small huff air, trying to make her way over to the fallen human kneeling on the ground, about to ask Tony to escort her back to the church so she could find Elliot. When a blur of something darted out of the shadows and knocked into Ambrose.

"Get off me!" Ambrose screeched as the creature held up some sort of scanning device.

"Wait, don't!" the Ambassador shouted, seeing Tony running for the creature. It wasn't a weapon they held, even she could tell that it was a scanning device, not meant to harm anyone.

But Tony had knocked into the creature already, shoving it away from Ambrose. In retaliation it lashed out with what appeared to be its tongue, snapping it against Tony's neck before darting off into the woods.

"Dad!" Ambrose gasped as she ran to her father's side as he sank to the ground.

"I told you to stay in the church," the Ambassador reminded them, a reprimand in her tone, "This is what happens when you don't listen to people."

"That thing attacked him!" Amy defended, kneeling on Tony's other side as Rory began to check the man over.

"Yes, because he ran himself into it and assumed an offensive stance," the Ambassador countered, "It was scanning her, it wasn't attacking her, you attacked it and it retaliated."

"It hit into Ambrose first!"

"Again, we don't know if it was an intended attack or if they weren't sure what human strength could match against it. Now take him back into the church and let me do my job!"

"They've killed Elliot, haven't they?" Amberose weapt.

"I don't think they have," the Ambassador tried to explain, tried to keep herself from getting even more frustrated with the situation as the humans began to pick themselves up at a much slower pace than she would have preferred, "Why take anyone if you're just planning to kill them? When that could just as easily have been done up here. There is something else going on, and if you would please, please, just go back to the church, I can find out what."

Ambrose finally seemed to realize the severity of the situation as she turned to help her father to his feet, "Come on, Dad."

"Rory," the Ambassador called as he looked over, "You're in charge till I get back."

Rory just pointed at himself like he couldn't believe she had said that while Amy rolled her eyes and stormed off to the church.

~8~

The Ambassador cautiously made her way through the darkness, she had shut the door into the church with the other humans inside and made to walk around the perimeter of the building. She figured that whatever creature had been watching them earlier, must still be watching them now and would perhaps see her moving about and come to confront her.

She was trying to move as slowly and carefully as she could, keeping aware of everything around her so she would not be surprised when whatever creature it was appeared. She came to a stop just in front of the vehicle from earlier, turning to rest her back against it as it gave her a more open view of the area in front of her. She couldn't shake the feeling that she was being followed and hope that, by stopping, it would give the creature a chance to appear.

She heard something rustling in front of her and looked up to see what appeared to be a reptilian yet humanoid figure running at her. She couldn't tell though by its body language whether it meant to attack or if it was just trying to approach her quickly. Either way she fully planned to step to the side once it was near enough, hoping that it crashing into the van would give it enough of a pause to hear her out. She did hold her hands up in a show of innocence and surrender, hoping it might calm the creature down.

However before she could even begin to try and speak to the creature or implementer her plan, when it was only a few feet away, something red slammed into the side of it, sending it falling to the ground in a tumble.

"Amy!" the Ambassador shouted, seeing that the human had come running from the side and crashed into the creature instead. Well, that explained why she felt like she was being followed, "Have you lost your mind? What are you doing?!"

"Saving your life apparently," Amy glared at her, "You're welcome!"

The Ambassador shook her head at the girl, storming past her to go kneel besides creature, checking on it, but it had been completely knocked out by the blow, "Wonderful," she huffed, resting her head in one of her hands as she shook it, before dragging it down her cheek. And she thought Ambrose was the one she would have to worry about.

She looked up a moment later when another rumbling noise sounded.

"Ok, what was that?" Amy looked around.

"The rumbling sounded when this one broke through the Earth," the Ambassador mumbled, trying to work it out, "I suppose it's sounding when they go back into the Earth as well."

"What, they're leaving?" Amy frowned, "Without this one?"

The Ambassador looked up as the darkness began to lighten once more, allowing the sunshine in, "Thanks to you," she shot her an angry look, "They probably think we've taken this one as a hostage."

"Well, we have, haven't we?"

"That wasn't the plan, and in case you missed the memo, they have more hostages than we do," she stood up, "And now, you are going to help me get this one somewhere stable so I can talk to them and try to fix this."

~8~

The Doctor gasped awake, jerking up and smacking his head on the lid of what appeared to be a glass box of some sort. He looked around, squirming within it and pressing his hands to the sides, trying to escape. He began to pat himself down quickly, trying to find the sonic, managing to pull it right from his pocket just as he saw a distorted figure leaning over the lid of the box, staring down at him.

He smirked triumphantly and flicked the sonic on, moving to try and scan the side of the box to unlatch it...

When the figure quickly leaned to the side and back only moments later, when a gas began to filter into the box.

The Doctor bent his arm, trying to keep his mouth hidden within his elbow, but the gas was seeping in too fast. He should have been immune to it, or at least lasted longer than he had, whatever it was must have been very potent. The sonic just began to beep, picking up what the gas was, when he felt his world going black right when the first few cracks appeared on the side of the box...

~8~

The Ambassador looked up from where she was waiting outside the church basement door for Rory when the man approached.

"You um, wanted to see me?" he asked, fidgeting slightly.

The Ambassador sighed, "I'm going to go talk to our friend in there," she nodded to the door.

"Ok," he frowned, "Did you want me to go with you?" it was the only thing he could think of for why she'd send Amy to call for him.

"No," she shook her head, "If I'm going to be leaving you in charge, Rory, I wanted at least the other humans to respect your authority. Having you join me makes you seem more important to the others, that _I_ want you here with me."

Rory was far more clever than she was sure the Doctor would give him credit for as he winced at her words, seeming to understand even more about why she was doing this, "I'm sorry about Amy," he began, "I told her to stay…"

"And she didn't listen," the Ambassador cut in, "If she can go against you when you're in charge, it's only a matter of time before the others do too. This is damage control, but Rory, you NEED to stand up to her. You can't just go along with whatever Amy wants, that's not how relationships work."

"I know," Rory sighed, leaning against a wall across from the Ambassador, seeming like a load had been taken off him at her words. He hadn't exactly said anything about it, but then again neither had anyone actually bothered to talk to him about it either, "I just…Amy was always so keen on the Doctor, you know? I thought, if I did what she wanted, if I went along with her, she'd, I don't know, notice me? Want me around?"

"Keep you?" the Ambassador offered, "I get that. I liked my husband so much before we began to court that I pretended I was a fan of Nukeball so he'd talk to me."

"How'd that work out?" Rory felt himself smile a bit.

"Turned out he enjoyed teaching me about it more than when he thought I knew everything," she smiled at the memory. Her husband had been a teacher at the Academy, always so patient and more interested in people who wanted to learn.

"I get it Rory, you're worried that Amy won't still want you if you stand against her, but Rory, she does love you, that…that incident with the Dream Lord proved it. And if she breaks things off just because you stand up for yourself, she's not a person worth tying your life to."

"I know," Rory admitted quietly, and, really, Amy was such a force of nature, so independent in her own right, that she'd probably get more frustrated with him being a doormat than someone who could hold his own against her.

"Don't let it happen again, though," the Ambassador pointed at him with a small smile, "Sit on her if you have to."

"I will," he laughed in promise.

The Ambassador nodded and moved to enter the room their guest was in, pausing just a moment at the door. It wasn't a pause made in a reluctance to enter, but more…trying to push past the memories that came up with the reminder of her husband, and the thoughts that followed with the Doctor and the connection they shared, and then to the Doctor and the lies he'd kept from her, the truth of what he'd done to their planet. If her husband had been alive further into the war, the Doctor would have…no, she couldn't think like that. But the small voice in her mind that reminded her she still COULD think of all the actual living people he HAD killed, the children, couldn't be silenced.

She shook her head at that, she needed to focus on their guest. As much as she tried to tell herself she wouldn't care if the Doctor stayed lost under the Earth, a part of her knew she'd never get the whole story or all the answers to her questions if she didn't get him and the others back.

She took a breath and stepped in, closing the door behind her.

She took a moment to observe the creature as it turned to face her as well. It was feminine in form, with a grey mask reptilian in nature, with large black eyes carved in.

"I don't attack you, you don't attack me, agreed?" she spoke first, "I've only come to talk to you."

"And yet you hold me prisoner!" the creature hissed.

"You're free to go at any time," the Ambassador countered, gesturing to the door as she slowly moved further into the room, "But there is a woman up there, and a man, part of the same genechain as the young one you took, and I'm sure you can imagine what YOU would do to someone you fear harmed one of your genechain, yes?"

The creature stilled and looked at her, "…you are protecting me?"

"In a way," she agreed, "I'm the Ambassador, it's my job to keep the peace and help BOTH sides come to an agreement. I can't do that if you're attacked," she stepped closer, "May I ask that you remove your mask?"

The creature hesitated a moment, but slowly reached up to pull it off, revealing a humanoid face though it was covered in green scales.

The Ambassador nodded, her suspicions about the type of creature confirmed, "Silurian," she murmured to herself, "Homo Reptilia. Which means geothermal currents for transportation. Explains the rumbling, but not why you came to the surface in the first place?"

She left the question open, not demanding information or answers, but allowing the creature to determine whether she wanted to answer or not. Forcing a response would not help with building any sort of trust to work with. She was quite certain that, had the Doctor been there, he'd ramble in the silence, but she was more than happy to wait it out.

It was a few minutes, but the creature eventually did speak, "We were attacked," she spoke, "I came to stop it."

The Ambassador thought on that, "You came from below the earth, the only thing in the earth right now, right here, is the drill…it was enclosing on your people…"

"No," the woman spoke quickly, "Not my people. Me. I am the last of my species."

"You said we," the Ambassador pointed out, "WE were attacked. And while I appreciate your dedication to protecting your people, the Klempari Defense only works when you're NOT speaking to someone who IS the last of their kind," she gave a sad shrug, "You're a soldier, activated to protect your kind from the drill and other dangers. But I am not a threat to your people…" she gestured at the woman for something.

"Alaya," she offered after a moment.

"Thank you. As I was saying, I can understand your desire to protect your people. I was a soldier once too, I fought to keep my own safe. I failed. I don't ever want to fail anyone else like that again. So I give you my word, Alaya, I will do all I can to protect them and you."

"You would side with us against the apes?" Alaya seemed intrigued.

"To an extent," the Ambassador warned, "You were clearly here first. You're millions of years out of the loop though, the humans have evolved since you walked this planet, and they, also, are natural to this world and have the right to live here as well. I'd like to help you both find a way to coexist."

Alaya sneered at that though, "We will wipe the vermin from the surface and reclaim our planet."

"You do that, they WILL fight back," the Ambassador warned, "Even you can admit, some of your people will die in the battle. As will some of theirs, but if you are a true warrior, if you truly want to protect your people…should you not want to broker this peace?" she tried to appeal to her, "Avoid a war, avoid the death, have ALL your people survive? If you allow me, I can help you have that."

Alaya refused though, "This land is ours. We lived here long before the apes."

"I understand, but did you really think no one would come along while you slept? You may have lived and been conscious long before the humans, but they WERE here too, just not as evolved. They are NOW, this is just as much their planet."

"So we destroy them."

"Alaya, please, think about this. You are underestimating the humans."

"You underestimate us."

"Six billion humans, ALL your people," she shook her head, "You can both survive this and come out winners. There is a compromise to be made."

"We did not initiate combat!" Alaya snarled, "But we can still win."

"You don't want to avoid war then," the Ambassador sighed, "Fine, I cannot stop you, that isn't my right. I can only guide you and offer advice. Will you at least consider the return of those who were taken?"

"No."

"Not even for your own return to your army?"

"We have three of your apes, you have only one of me," Alaya smirked, "Which would you chose to barter me for?"

The Ambassador gave a small smile, "By your own implications, I would have thought you worth more than one mere ape."

Alaya actually smirked a bit at that remark, at the thought she was worth three apes.

But the Ambassador stood, "I can see I won't get anywhere with you," she told the reptile, "But, as you admitted, you are a warrior, a soldier, not the commander. Which means you have someone higher up you answer to. If you won't speak to me, perhaps they will."

"ONLY the warrior class was activated," Alaya argued.

"Then someone's about to be quite grumpy their nap was interrupted," the Ambassador told her, "I'll be sure to let them know you're the reason for it though."

"You cannot leave me here!" Alaya snarled, trying to stride after the Ambassador as she moved to the door.

"You would not return those you took," the Ambassador reminded her, "If you go with me, you will be agreeing to return them to us. Which do you want?"

Alaya glared but backed down, knowing she'd walked herself into a trap with that, "The fire of war is already lit. A massacre is due."

"Not while I'm here."

"I'll gladly die for my cause!" Alaya snapped as the Ambassador opened the door, "What will you sacrifice for yours?"

The Ambassador sighed and looked over her shoulder at the reptile, "I've already lost everything that mattered to me," she told the woman, "I have nothing left to lose. But you and the humans have everything to gain."

And, with that, she stepped out of the room and shut the door behind her.

~8~

The Ambassador stood before the other humans in the center of the church, having just explained to them her plan to go to the Silurian tribe to negotiate with them.

"You're going to what?!" Rory shook his head.

"Exactly as I said," she told him, "I'm not repeating myself, I know you heard me."

"You're going to negotiate with these aliens?" Ambrose seemed disgusted.

"Humans evolved from apes," the Ambassador explained, "You're natural to this planet. As hard as it may be to believe, so are the Silurians, what our guest, Alaya, is. Just like you still HAVE apes on this planet alongside you, you have reptiles alongside them."

"So they're just evolved lizards?" Amy frowned.

"Yes, they evolved faster than you did, that's all. They were here while you were still all apes and went below the earth for some reason or another. They've woken up now, thanks to your drill, and they want their planet back. And they deserve to have it," she held up her hand when the humans, sans Rory, began to argue, "As do YOU. There HAS to be a way to compromise here, you both have a claim to this planet. Alaya refuses to negotiate, nor can she really speak for her people, so I need to find her commanding officer. SHE needs to be kept safe too, if you harm her, that gives them every right to harm the Doctor, Mo, or Elliot," she shot Ambrose a pointed look, "While I'm down there, Rory's in charge, Amy," she shot Amy a look next, "You all listen to him…"

"Why Rory?" Amy asked, glancing at him in apology, "It's just, I've been travelling with the Doctor longer and…"

"And that's why," she cut in, "Your first reaction was to attack Alaya. Rory is a nurse, he helps people, and I trust him to be the most objective among you. Because right now, you have to be Ambassadors in your own right, you are going to be representing the Earth once I find the Silurian leaders."

"What if they come back?" Tony called when the Ambassador moved to leave, "Shouldn't we be examining this creature, dissecting it, finding its weak points?"

"ALAYA is still alive," the Ambassador reminded him, "As is Elliot. Unless you're saying you'd want their first reaction to be dissecting him?"

Tony shook his head, looking rightfully shamed.

"You treat her like you'd want them to treat Elliot. Understood?"

The humans nodded and the Ambassador turned to go.

~8~

"Oh come on," the Ambassador huffed as she struggled with the TARDIS doors which refused to open, "I know, I know I don't have a key and you don't like me, but if you want your precious Doctor back you need to…"

"Would this help?" a voice said behind her and she turned to see Amy approaching.

"I told you to stay with Rory," she muttered.

Amy rolled her eyes, "I know, but I figured you'd need the key," she held up the TARDIS key in her hand, stepping forward to unlock the box.

"Thank you," the Ambassador offered, stepping into the box, only to stop when she heard Amy follow, "No! No, you are not coming with me."

"Oh please, I'm the Doctor's companion," Amy continued, shutting the door behind her, "I should be the one to go help rescue him."

"Amy this is not up for discussion, go back to the church and…"

But anything the Ambassador was going to say was cut off when the box suddenly shook, throwing them to the floor.

"What's happening?" Amy shouted, as it felt like they were jerked to the side.

The Ambassador managed to pick herself up and move to the console, bringing up the monitor to see nothing but layers of dirt flying past it, "Well, we're either being taken down too, or we've fallen through one of the Silurian tunnels up."

They grabbed onto anything they could for stability, until the TARDIS finally landed with a painful thump, sending them to the floor once more.

"Are we there then?" Amy asked after a moment of stillness.

The Ambassador huffed, not pleased with Amy even being there, but knowing the TARDIS likely wouldn't keep the girl locked in if she asked her too. SHE would have to keep an eye on the human from this point on. Great.

"Only one way to find out," the Ambassador murmured, pushing herself up to go to the door, peering out cautiously before stepping into what appeared to be an empty tunnel, roots and fungi clinging to the walls around them. She looked up to see a hole in the ceiling just above the TARDIS, "Fell through a hole then," she noted to herself.

"How far down are we?" Amy looked around, "We're not in the center of the earth though, right? We'd be burning alive then, wouldn't we?"

"The Silurians would need some sort of field to keep themselves safe," the Ambassador shrugged, starting to head down one of the tunnels, "Come on."

~8~

The Doctor jerked awake once more, immediately starting to struggle as he looked around at where he was, getting his bearings back. He looked down when he felt something resisting by arms and legs to see that they were strapped down on some sort of examination board. He was standing straight up, fully clothed though his jacket had been removed. He could see it off to the side, neatly folded with his sonic sitting on top. Well, there went his plans for trying to escape the locks on the board.

"Don't struggle," a voice whispered beside him, and he looked over to see a man strapped to a similar board, clothed as well, but his button up shirt was undone, "Close your eyes and don't struggle."

The Doctor frowned at that, " What do you mean don't struggle? Where are we? Is this what's blowing Earth? What pulled me down here? And why can't I move?"

"Shhh," the man hissed as the Doctor began to get louder with each question, "Decontamination, they call it. They did it to me. While I was conscious."

The Doctor frowned as he looked at the man, his face scrunching in confusion. But then the man turned slightly so the Docor could see the incision that had been made straight down the middle of his body, "They've dissected you?"

The man opened his mouth to reply, only to look towards the doors at the other end of the examination room when a noise sounded, "He's coming. I'm sorry. I wish I could help you."

"Oi, no, no, hold on," the Doctor shook his head, "I'M the one that's supposed to be helping you! I'm the Doctor!"

"You are a doctor?" a voice spoke, just as the doors to the room opened, revealing a reptilian man in a white lab coat, "Fascinating, as am I."

~8~

"We need to be careful," the Ambassador was saying as she led the way through a tunnel, Amy just a pace or two behind her, "We don't know how many homo reptilia we're going to be dealing with. We don't know which of them we're going to encounter first, more soldiers like..."

"Um, Ambassador?" Amy called, having stopped just within open archway, "I think we should plan for meeting a lot of them."

The Ambassador frowned her words and stepped over to Amy's side, only to see, on the other side of the opening, was a very large community carved into of the Earth, almost on the scale of a city. It had buildings and monuments all of it own with pathways in and out.

"Alright," the Ambassador nodded to herself, "We should anticipate an entire civilization then. But the size isn't exactly what's most important right now."

"And what's that?"

"We need to find the one in charge of all this."

And, she knew, the chances were, he or she will be guarded by more soldiers just like Alaya. Wonderful.

To be continued...

A/N: Sorry this was so late :( I ended up with a nasty case of food poisoning the last few days but I didn't want to make you wait another week and a half or so for the next chapter :)

I tried to balance the Ambassador's 'questioning' of Alaya with how it went in the show, I wanted her to be more calm, less interrogating and more understanding. I feel like she'd want to make it clear she's there to help and wants both sides to win, while also understanding Alaya's mentality and loyalty too. I hope it made sense :)

I also felt like she'd want to have some sort of talk with Rory about everything, she trusts him to be less biased than Amy is and he proved he could be, he just needs to work on his backbone a bit :)

I can say, the next two chapters is when we'll find out what Sadie actually did as an Ambassador, why she's called that, what her role was, and how it works with the whole 'sworn never to interfere only to watch' thing ;) AND we'll also find out exactly what the connection between the Doctor and Sadie is and why she's so against it };)

And woo! I've reached 11 million words archived just the other day, I'm super happy about that lol :D

Some notes on reviews...

Sadie fought during a good portion of the war but as a foot soldier on the planet, but yes, she didn't see the effect it had offworld, she didn't really have time to care about the other planets when her own was being torn apart sort of thing :( I base most of the stories only on the show and not the comics, audio, books so what we see on screen is the information I use for the stories. So something may have happened or been explained in a book or audio feed, but if it's not mentioned on the show, I consider it fairgame to tweak or twist based on what the show alludes to :) As for the non-interference, I actually answered that in a different chapter's 'notes on reviews' and it will appear in the story as a main part, but to sum up: when it comes to the Ambassadors, they don't interfere in the sense that they are sent out by the High Council to implement changes on a global scale or take part in paradigm changing events. Most of the time they are requested by a planet or a situation as a sort of mediator, but also act as a representation of Gallifrey, because Time Lords were often thought of as wise and clever and would be the best people to help resolve a problem by those requesting their help. If they're so smart, they can work out a way both sides win. They can't force a planet to follow their decision, they can help them work out ways to resolve the issue and often the planets agree with the plan because usually both sides to walk away happy. I imagine the High Council sort of sneakily using this as a way to 'grow allies' for the Time War since they appeared to know it was coming, without outright interfering with the course of the Universe. Other times they go to a planet to observe and learn about the culture there, to report back to Gallifrey and update their records. So they don't technically interfere but are more requested for aid, make suggestions for help, or act sort of like anthropologists and study new cultures. They're called Ambassadors because they are representing Gallifrey whenever they step off-world as they are being sent in an official capacity and not just a traveler like the Doctor. It's sort of a blanket term for the branch of select Time Lords who are sent off world and meant to officially represent Gallifrey with their presence. Sort of like how if you go somewhere for a work trip and take a friend with you, they do not represent your company YOU do. If the Ambassador and the Doctor went somewhere, he would probably go off all willy nilly and do his thing, while the Ambassador would at least try to act how people would expect a Time Lord to behave since she is representing her people :)

Definitely a lot of tension between Sadie and the Doctor :( Even once their issues with the events of the War are resolved as well as they can be, there's still going to be the connection they share that they'll have to find a way to work around :(

The Ambassador is a bit unconcerned with humans, very true. I think part of it is her subconsciously reacting to how much the Doctor cares about them. On one hand she's trying to keep both sides happy and she only really cares-cares about her own people. She's trying to be unbiased to either side and the danger lies in when she starts to care too much about one side. But, on the other hand, the Doctor is so pro-human that she might somewhat be less concerned with the humans because she just assumes he'll argue on their behalf enough for anyone lol :) This past episode she's struggling a little to be that concerned for the humans too because the Doctor murdered (as far as she knows) all their own people and the humans he's sort of 'adopted' and she's having trouble being near him which kind of translates to not wanting to have anything to do with things he cares about either. But Rory, as always, is everyone's exception ;)


	9. Cold Blood (Part One)

Cold Blood (Part One)

"Well, at least it's not as big as I thought it might be," the Ambassador murmured as she led Amy through the halls of the underground cavernous dwelling, "But it is a little more deserted than I thought," and indeed she had thought, with Alaya awake, that there would be more soldiers about and at least one person in charge but they had encountered none, "I suppose the others are still asleep."

"Well that's good, isn't it?" Amy asked, "We should be able to find the Doctor easy peasy."

"We can't just go look for the Doctor," the Ambassador reminded her, "Right now, you are acting as a representative of the humans, you are an Ambassador for them, just as I was to my people."

She wasn't the only Ambassador to be found on Gallifrey. It was a branch, a number of different Time Lords and Time Ladies who held that title. All it really meant was that, when they stepped off planet, it was always in an _official_ capacity. They became representatives of Gallifrey, they were meant to represent their people and planet whenever they went to another civilization. If she and the Doctor went to the same planet, _he_ would not be seen as someone representing Gallifrey but as a mere visitor, his actions would not have as much of an impact on how they viewed the Time Lords as _hers_ would.

There were only two reasons why an Ambassador would leave Gallifrey in the first place. One, was when another species requested their presence, due to some strife or situation that required a mediator of sorts. Their species was regarded to be one of the most clever in the universe, if they were so smart they could find a way that both sides in an argument could walk away winners. They could never actually interfere with these situations, only offer advice and suggestion for the people to take or ignore. They could not force another species to follow the details of what they suggested. Most ended up taking their advice as they often walked away better for it. The second reason, was when they visited other species that they had not had contact with in a very long time, to observe the species and record any differences or changes that had come about from their civilization to bring back to Gallifrey. That was done to update their records for the archives, they observed, they watched, they didn't interfere even in that regard. An Ambassador was something of a cross between a mediator and an anthropologist, an unbiased third party.

The ONLY time they were allowed to come close to interfering was when the basic laws of time were at risk, when it was the duty and obligation of any Time Lord to maintain them, such as when the timelines were in jeopardy of being changed from a specific course of events. There were loopholes, of course, like with the Signora in Venice. Doing something behind the scenes, making it subtle so that the timeline and course of events remained the same on a large scale. But what the Signora was going to do, sink Venice, alter human history as a result, that was the only time an Ambassador could try to stop it. Always in preservation of established events.

Still, in each and every case an Ambassador of Gallifrey was a representative of Gallifrey.

Right now, Amy was getting her first taste of being an Ambassador for the Humans, and she was _not_ about to let this blow up in their faces, not when peace was always an option.

"We are here to keep the peace on both sides," she reminded Amy, "If they find us sneaking around trying to break someone out, they could take it as a hostile act."

"They were hostile first in taking the Doctor," Amy muttered, "If we could just find him..."

The Ambassador closed her eyes for just a moment, letting out a long breath before she focused on Amy once more, "Amy, I'm not here for the Doctor. I'm here to find the person in charge of this place and talk to them about all of this."

Amy frowned at that, "Look, I know you don't like the Doctor but you can't just abandon him here."

"Like he abandoned his own people?" the Ambassador countered, "Did he tell you _anything_ about the the Time War?"

Amy fell silent, "He did, actually, he told me what happened, he told me what he did."

"Which version did he tell you?" the Ambassador continued, feeling herself getting more upset, but by this point she had expected to be having this conversation with the Doctor, and she hadn't, and it was all just bubbling up inside of her, "Did he tell you some story where he was the tragic hero who ended the war and saved the universe from the Daleks? Or did he tell you the true story, about how he destroyed our planet with all of our people still on it?"

"He had to do it, to save the universe," Amy insisted.

The Ambassador crossed her arms, stopping in her walk to face Amy fully, "So you would do the same? You would destroy this entire planet, with every man, woman, _every child_ , still on it? All of your friends, and family, with _Rory_ still here? You would destroy it without giving anyone any chance of escape? That's what you would do? Or are you just saying this because it's not YOUR planet in question and not a choice you'll ever have to make."

Amy seemed to falter at those words.

The Ambassador closed her eyes and took another deep breath, "I'm sure there was more to it than what I'm thinking," she forced herself to admit, before opening her eyes once more.

"But you don't want there to be," Amy finished for her, understanding, "Because you don't _want_ to like the Doctor."

The Ambassador looked away, which was enough of an admission to Amy that she was right.

"Why?" she had to ask, "I get I wasn't there, I get it wasn't my planet, but I've had a few adventures with the Doctor, he's a decent person, he tries so hard to _help_ people."

The Ambassador shook her head slightly, not really wanting to get into a discussion about this, but a part of her was thinking, a part of her _knew_ , that she would probably end up staying in the TARDIS with the Doctor when all this was over. And if she was, maybe having another person there to help keep them apart would help.

"Because if I don't like him, it's easier to stay away from him," the Ambassador admitted, turning and purposely walking once more.

Amy hurried to catch up with her and keep pace with her, "Why would you need to stay away from him?" that was the part that was not making sense to her, not that anything about this entire situation was making sense to her.

"The Doctor and I..." the Ambassador struggled to continue, really not wanting to say it out loud, it would make it real if she said it out loud, "We have a connection. And we _can't_ have that connection."

Amy was silent for just a moment, thinking about what the Ambassador had said, not that she had said much. But she could admit that she had noticed something different between the two of them. Well she had noticed something different with the Doctor at least, she didn't know the Ambassador well enough to tell if there was anything different about her. But the Doctor was reacting to other people differently, he was avoiding touching them, she'd certainly noticed that. But he didn't shy away from trying to touch the Ambassador, though the Time Lady very much did. He kept seeming to want the Ambassador to stay, with a desperation she wasn't used to seeing in him.

But what connection did they have exactly? And _why_ was it something they shouldn't have? After everything the Doctor had lost, Amy would think he deserved more than anyone else to have some sort of connection to another person.

"What sort of connection?"

But the Ambassador shook her head at that, "Just leave it at that Amy, it's a connection and nothing more, a connection that cannot continue or be encouraged."

"Does this connection have a name?" Amy asked, if it was something sinister, then she could perhaps understand why it was something to be avoided as the Ambassador seemed keen to avoid it.

"The word itself is forbidden," the Ambassador murmured, "We are only ever told it in _one_ moment, when we learn about it, about why we must avoid it, deny it. After that, we are NEVER to speak it again. It's a taboo word."

"Well you've _got_ to give me something," Amy rolled her eyes, "I can't just call it 'that thing,' can I?"

The Ambassador sighed, "English," she considered, knowing it would be the only language Amy knew, and, perhaps, so long as it wasn't said in Gallifreyan, it wasn't breaking the taboo, "In your language...the closest word for it is...Alphega."

"That's NOT a word in my language," Amy scoffed. It even sounded weird. Al-Fay-Gah? It was a rubbish word.

"Alpha and Omega," the Ambassador continued, ignoring her, "The beginning and the end, the start and finish, the strongest and weakest. That is what the Alphega is to Time Lords. Your greatest strength, your greatest weakness, where your thoughts start and end."

"Why is that considered taboo?"

"Because we are an intellectual people, Amelia. We value logic, reason, and intelligence over everything."

"What, like Vulcans?"

"I have no idea what that is," the Ambassador glanced at her oddly.

"It's...nothing," Amy shook her head, "Made up alien from a TV show."

The Ambassador hesitated a moment at that, but shook her head to finish what she was saying, "The connection two Alphegas have...it drives them to emotion, to distraction. You begin to think less with your mind and more with your heart, your desires begin to become more important than your reasoning."

Amy went silent for just another moment, thinking about how the Ambassador had described the connection, "That sounds an awful lot like love," Amy countered, "Are you and the Doctor soulmates or something?"

The Ambassador snorted at the word, at the implication, "By definition, soulmates are something to be cherished and treasured, they are someone who is meant for you, to complete you, too love you, make you better. An Alphega is nothing of the sort. You begin to want nothing else but your Alphega. The connection is _addicting_ , Amy, it's consuming. The longer it goes, the more you use it, the _better_ if feels, the more you _want_ it. It burns away everything else till _nothing_ is left but them. It's not a good thing," the Ambassador huffed, stopping in her walk to spin and face Amy, "Your Alphega becomes _everything_ to you."

"HOW is that bad?" Amy shook her head, "Most people would kill for the chance to be that important to someone."

"Because they become everything, _literally_ everything," the Ambassador grew serious, "You stop caring about anything and everything else. You stop caring about your friends, about your family, yourself. You _just_ care about your Alphega. Eventually you stop caring about sleeping, eating, drinking, anything but them. You won't even be able to leave their side, to be apart. If you let it go too far...it can _kill_ _you_. It almost always does."

It finally seemed to hit Amy just how dangerous this was.

"The mountains," the Ambassador picked up again, turning to walk, her voice quiet, affected in a way Amy had never heard before, not even from the Doctor, "They are scattered with the bodies and bones of Alphegas that turned _feral_. Because they do. They always do. If you let the connection strengthen, you start to change. You start to care less about everything else and nothing is more important than being with your Alphega. You leave your family, your friends, your life behind, craving only your Alphega. Most disappear into the woods, because no one in civilization would accept them. If you reach that point, you're not even considered Time Lord anymore, not considered human by your terms. So you leave, go somewhere where it can be just the two of you. And they're barely ever seen again...until the bodies are found, half starved, half exhausted. You love your Alphega to death, Amy."

"That wouldn't happen," Amy spoke quietly after a moment, "The Doctor wouldn't..."

"He's already started to be affected by it," the Ambassador cut in, "He shies away from your touch, from anyone else's, as though his skin has been burned when it touches someone else's skin, hasn't he?" Amy couldn't answer, because it was true, "It's an effect of the connection. Once it is sparked, your body begins to crave, to accept, _only_ your Alphega's touch. It's like...their touch is _warmth_ , and everyone else's is chilled. It's like YOU are cold and the _only_ thing that warms you is your Alphega."

Amy had opened her mouth to speak when she saw something that made her stop. The Ambassador was looking down at herself, her gloved hand clutched into a tight fist, her other hand tugging at the edge of her jacket...and that's when she realized, it wasn't _just_ the Doctor that was affected. The Ambassador was, equally so, they were just displaying it in different ways.

The Doctor didn't let anyone else touch him, his skin, because, she now realized, their touch was too cold for him to bear, his body rejecting it and saving all sensations for the Ambassador.

The Ambassador, she wasn't covered nearly head to toe to keep the Doctor or anyone else from touching her, it wasn't to keep the Doctor away, not fully...it was because she was _cold_. The Ambassador was feeling the exact chill she was describing, she was cold, and only the Doctor could warm her.

"You let the connection manifest, strengthen, and it is the same as signing a death certificate," the Ambassador finished, "It burns away everything that you are, that you love, till nothing is left but raw desire, and that kills you in the end."

The Doctor was deluding himself. His reaction to her, he should have fled from it, let her go, should have put them on opposite ends of the Universe and driven himself to distraction with his adventures to never think of her again. _But he wasn't_. He was actually _trying_ to strengthen it, consciously reaching for her, wanting to touch her despite knowing what it would mean. On one level, she understood, everything the connection was was designed to keep the Alphegas together. After the initial connection was forged, it was as though you could never be warm unless you were with your Alphega, it was meant to drive you back to them, that warmth, that craving for it. But the more you touched, the more that warm and amazing feeling filled you, the more you wanted it. It was a vicious cycle.

In another sense, she could understand, when she tried very hard to look at it from the Doctor's perspective, how it might be his mindset as well that was driving him to this. He had been alone for over 100 years, he had felt no connection to Gallifrey for _a century_. And now he had one again and _of course_ he would crave it more, he would want SOMETHING of their home back, he needed a connection desperately after the decades of being truly on his own. Better to die with his Alphega and feeling _something_ than to die alone and empty.

But she was from the middle of the war, the end of it if the Doctor's words of how it ended were anything to go on. She hadn't been without that connection so long. It was too fresh to her, the teachings of the connection too ingrained. She was trying, in her own way, to save them both, to keep them both alive. Even if it hurt the Doctor to deny him.

"Do...you really think _the Doctor_ would just...stop caring?" Amy asked, her voice a mere whisper, as though she didn't know what to think on that, as though she couldn't imagine the Doctor ever NOT caring about others, it was in his name.

The Ambassador swallowed at the thought, "I hope not," was all she could say, "But I fear the day when he stops wanting to hug people Amy."

That would be the first sign that something was getting very wrong, that the connection was starting to strengthen. He still acted like normal, he still hugged people, even if it was more careful than normal, ensuring no skin contact. He still was touchy, he still reached for people, he still _wanted_ to hold hands and help.

The day he stopped being a hugger, that would be a day to truly worry.

"I'm sorry," Amy offered after a minute or two of silence, of them walking through the tunnels of the city, "I didn't understand before."

The Ambassador could only nod, understanding Amy was very protective and defensive of the Doctor. She imagined many of his companions were the same. She honestly wasn't sure _she_ even understood what was going on inside of her own mind and heart. Everything was at war with each other. The connection alone was more than enough reason to stay far away from the Doctor, but the connection was also the reason why she couldn't force herself to leave. She needed him to be the villain of the story, the true enemy in the war, because she honestly was afraid she couldn't make herself go if he wasn't. But she also knew it wasn't fair to blame him for things she didn't fully understand, that she didn't know the whole story of. But, again, she knew if she heard him out completely, if any part of her could understand why he did it, it would make that drive to leave lessen.

She _needed_ to leave, she _wanted_ to leave, but even as angry as she had been in that moment when he told her the truth, she hadn't gone out the doors of the TARDIS, she hadn't left him. She was truly afraid of what it would mean when the day came where she _wouldn't_ _want_ to.

She shook her head more firmly this time, needing to focus on what was going on, she had gotten distracted with her talk with Amy. She couldn't afford to, not with soldiers clearly awake even though she hadn't seen them, not with hostages taken on either side, the Silurians had taken _a child_ , that would automatically set the humans on edge. She didn't trust Ambrose, she didn't trust Tony or Nasreen either, they all had a connection to Elliot. She had hoped that Amy staying with Rory would give him more of a chance of holding them off if they ever decided to take action against Alaya, but Amy was beside her now. It would only be a matter of time before either side did something that came across as a clear indication of War.

She needed to be fast and focused.

"Are you sure that the person in charge is even going to _want_ to see us?" Amy asked, thankfully changing the subject from the harsh realities they'd just discussed.

"Whether they want to see us or not is irrelevant," Ambassador offered, "We have information they need."

No sooner had she finished speaking, did an alarm start blaring above them just as they reached a door set into the wall of a tunnel, a speaker calling, "Hostile life force detected, area life force detected, area 17."

The Ambassador only barely refrained from slumping when the doors slid open to reveal a handful of armed Silurian soldiers and when she heard the sound of stomping footsteps behind her, signaling more approaching from the rear.

"Not hostile," the Ambassador told them, holding up her arms in a show of innocence, Amy quickly following suit, "Not armed. We come in peace. I, the Ambassador of Gallifrey, along with Amelia Pond, Ambassador for the Humans, seek an audience with a Silurian Elder under peaceful contract according to Convention 15 of the Shadow Proclamation."

It wasn't until the Silurians began to shoot gas from their weapons towards her and Amy that she remembered the Shadow Proclamation conventions she often cited would mean nothing to a civilization that had been sleeping for millions of years.

Her last thought as she and Amy fell to the floor, slipping into unconsciousness, was 'damn.'

~8~

"You're a doctor?" the Doctor eyed the Silurian that was approaching him slowly, "Well, yes, of course, I suppose you are, nice white lab coat by the way, very doctor-like. Wouldn't want to get it dirty with...with that thing in your hand..." the Doctor squirmed a little bit, watching as the Silurian doctor approached with a scalpel held tightly in his hand.

The man merely stilled as he drew nearer, reaching up to pull his surgical mask down, revealing more of his face and beginning to speak to a recording program, "From the strange wand device found in the subject's clothing, I can determine that the humans are more advanced than we feared."

The Doctor was just about to open his mouth and inform the Silurian, for he was quite surprised to see the Silurians beneath the earth's surface, that he was not human but a Time Lord, when the man beside him began shouting, "Leave him alone! You got me!"

The Silurian merely pulled out a small device from his pocket and pressed a button, making the Doctor wince as the clamps around his wrists were pulled down even more, locking him in place, "Decontamination complete. Commencing dissection."

"Decontamination?" the Doctor blinked, startled, "How did I sleep through that one? Look, mate, you're not going to want to do that, it's going to mess with your results, I'm not a hu..."

"Area 17 incursion," a tannoy began to blare, cutting him off, "Species diagnostic requested. Area 17 incursion, species diagnostic requested."

The Doctor watched as the Silurian sighed, but set aside his scalpel to leave the lab. He waited just a moment longer, for the doors to shut behind the man, before he managed to pull his arms out of the clamps and get himself off the examination board, stepping down to the main floor.

"How did you do that!?" the man beside him called as the Doctor hurried to grab the sonic, turning to unlock the clamps holding him in place as well.

"Houdini's a friend of mine," he mumbled, quickly steadying the man as he nearly fell out of the restraints. It had taken a little doing, but he had finally learned the trick the man had been trying to teach him on how to escape handcuffs. It was the same basic principle when it came to those clamps, "Come on, let's go," he hurriedly put the man's arm around his shoulder, careful to keep from touching the man's hand or wrist, leading him towards the doors to the hallway, "I'm the Doctor, by the way."

"Mo," the man winced as his incisions tugged slightly, "That creature, do you think it was an alien? Any more of them do you think? Do you think the Earth's been invaded?"

"Silurian," the Doctor corrected, "Also known as Homo Reptilia, native to Earth, not an alien. From what it looks like they've been hiding under the Earth for quite some time now. Always better to assume there's more of them out there. Not quite sure if they've all gone to the surface yet or not, but probably best to get out of here and find out."

They made their way down the hallway, carefully keeping an eye out for any more Silurians. They had to pause to rest at one point when Mo became winded, though there was a door just next to them.

"Think it might be a way out of here?" Mo asked, nodding at the door.

"Only one way to find out," the Doctor grinned, putting his hand on a panel next to the door. While the door did not open or unlock, it did turn the lights on within the chamber behind the door. They peeked in to see a young boy standing there with his eyes closed, wires attached to his temples.

"Oh, my God, no!" Mo gasped.

"What is it?"

"It's my son!" Mo shouted, nearly throwing himself at the door to try and force it open, "It's Elliot. What've they done to him? No! He's in there! We have to get him out! Elliot! Elliot, it's Dad!"

"Access denied," a computerized voice stated as Mo tried to pull the door open. The Doctor tried to use the panel once more, even flashing the sonic, but it appeared the computer systems were picking up that it was not human or Silurian technology, "Unauthorized genetic imprint."

"Mo, Mo, he's fine," the Doctor tried to reassure him, needing him to stop so he wouldn't cause more alarms to go off, "See these screens? They're monitoring vital signs, heartbeats, pulses. He's still alive. He's in stasis. If you keep doing that, they'll know we're here, and then they'll put us in stasis and we'll never be able to help him."

Mo forced himself to take a breath, trying to calm down, understanding now that it would not help his son if he was to get captured too, "Alright. We find weapons, get that creature from the lab, and force it to release Elliot, yeah?"

The Doctor gave him a strained smile at the mention of getting weapons, offering instead, "We'll get him out. Trust me, I'm the Doctor."

~8~

Waking up to excruciating pain was not something the Ambassador had ever experienced, even during the worst of the war any pain she had endured was gotten in battle, while she had been conscious, or waking up with pain in just one area of her body from a wound. This was nothing like that. She came to to find herself strapped down to an examination board, standing straight up, with a female Silurian warrior beside a male Silurian in a white lab coat, Amy being held by two soldiers off to the side. There was some sort of scanner moving over her body...and that was what was causing her so much pain.

But even through that, she could hear what the two Silurians were talking about, the female was speaking to the male, "How can they have escaped? This proves all prisoners should remain under military guard."

"I'm sure you'd prefer to be in charge of everything and everyone, Restac," the man was saying, "But we rank the same. Is there any word from Alaya?"

"No."

"It's fine to show concern, you know. She's part of your gene-chain. I'm Decontaminating now."

"Decontamination," the Ambassador gasped, working out what was happening now, "You can't!"

"It's alright. It won't harm you."

"Yeah, because she looks like she's _not_ being harmed right now!" Amy shouted, struggling in the hold of the soldiers, even if she in the Ambassador weren't on the best of terms, it didn't mean she wanted to watch the woman in such pain.

"I'm only neutralizing all her ape bacteria," the man explained.

"She's NOT an ape!"

"Not human," the Ambassador agreed, struggling to speak, "Your scans," she nodded to a monitor even she could see that was showing something very not human, "Two hearts! If you neutralize that bacteria you neutralize half the things keeping me alive."

For one brief moment it felt as though the pain had disappeared, when her mind raced to think about what the consequences would be if they didn't stop the machine, if she ended up dying from this. Even though the connection between her and the Doctor had only just begun, she knew what _could_ happen if one Alphega died on the other. It was one thing if both Alphegas passed together, but it was another if one was killed.

The feral quality she had mentioned to Amy wasn't just in a sense of turning away from society and giving in to primal primitive urges. The bond could run so deep that minds were connected, on such a level that if one suddenly disappeared it left the other fractured and broken. When the connection had first been discovered on Gallifrey experiments had, of course, been done to try and understand it, to determine the extent of it, the results of it, perhaps even how to stop it. A few unfortunate cases had occurred, where one Alphega passed before the other due to outside circumstances. Depending on the level of the bond and how long it had been encouraged, the resulting damage done to the surviving member varied.

In some cases the loss was just too much and their mind couldn't comprehend it, they became a broken shell of themselves, hollowed of everything that connected them to their partner. Because everything they had was so deeply invested in the other, so connected, that it was like everything was destroyed. In other cases, when the connection was strong, but just starting, that loss, that sudden removal of the bond, could drive one to attack. Their humanity and their care laid with their partner, and when it was taken from them, they lashed out. They would attack anyone in the vicinity, no matter who they were.

There had been some, rare though they were, who outright rejected their bond and loathed it so deeply that they would go so far as to remove there Alphega from their life in the most final way, by ending their partner's life before regeneration could set in. They were rare cases for it to be taken that far, but even those people were much changed from the experience of it all. It was said they were forever cold, that, as the years went on, the coldness would just fester and seep into them deeper and deeper, leaving them embittered and callous and cold.

She didn't want to know exactly how strong her connection with the Doctor was just yet, she didn't want to know what he would do if she were to die right that second.

But luckily for her, the Silurian scientist began to shut down the machines, the pain fading from her quickly.

"No, complete the process!" the female soldier, Restac, ordered.

"Thank you," she offered the scientist as the man came to unlock the clamps around her, "I am the Ambassador, that's Amy. And you are?"

"Restac. Military commander."

"And you?" she eyed the scientist as he helped her down.

"Malokeh, scientific division," he answered, "Your weapon was attacking the oxygen pockets above our city."

"Not my weapon, not A weapon, but that does explain the trips to the surface. Air pockets."

"Where is the rest of your invasion force?" Restac demanded.

"Not an invasion force either," she told them, "I am here in a peaceful capacity, to speak with one of your elders. Again, it wasn't an attack, or a weapon or an invasion, I just want to clear up the human side of the story, understand your side, and offer my experience in trying to help both come to a settlement. You have three subjects from the surface, we have Alaya. I would personally like to see all of them returned to their homes, and I assume," she eyed Restac, "With her being a member of your gene-chain, you wish to see her returned as well."

"You claim to come in peace, but you hold one of us hostage!"

"And, again, you have _three_ from the surface."

"I don't negotiate with apes," Restac snapped, before turning to Malokeh, "I'm going to send a clear message to those on the surface."

While Amy looked quite anxious about that, the Ambassador seemed like she had heard such a thing a few times already, "And execution will help no one," she warned Restac.

She was starting to realize, however, exactly where Alaya got her own hostilities from. It was clear to her that Restac was the elder of the gene-chain, and it only reaffirmed that she really needed to speak to one of the actual Elders, not one of the military commanders.

"It will help US," Restac hissed, before gesturing for the soldiers that had followed to grab the Ambassador as well and lead them out.

~8~

The Doctor was wringing his hands together as he and Mo walked down another tunnel of the Silurian City, Mo strong enough now to walk on his own without support from the Doctor. They came to a stop when they passed a chamber with glass covered alcoves on either side of it, the Doctor frowning deeply when he saw them, having seen them in other halls they had passed.

"These chambers are all over the city..." he murmured, moving over to one and pressing a sensor on the wall. Lights went on above all the alcoves, revealing more Silurian warriors standing inside, appearing to be unresponsive as well, "Stasis," he continued, nodding to himself at the sight. Clearly not all of the Silurians were awake yet. That at least meant the Earth hadn't been invaded.

"What are you doing?" Mo hissed when the Doctor got closer, crouching down to lean half into the space and look at a round disk on the floor that all of the Silurians were standing on, "Get out of there."

"Geothermal energy," he remarked distractedly, "And gravity bubble technology," he looked up to see a chute just above each of the Silurians, clearly a tunnel system of some sort for transport, "It's how they came up to the surface. Transport discs. And if the Silurians can use it, so can we."

"Even better, weapons!" Mo called, reaching out to grab one of the guns from the frozen soldiers.

"No, no," the Doctor reached out to take the gun from him, "No guns."

"Come on," Mo tried to pull it back, "Now we can fight back!"

The Doctor just yanked it away, "I have a thing about guns..."

"Then you won't be the one using it," Mo grabbed it out of the Doctor's hand once more, holding it closer and stepping back.

The Doctor sighed, seeing that the man wasn't about to give it up anytime soon, but hopefully he would be able to come up with a way to keep the man from needing to use it, "Fine, fine..."

"Which way now?"

"There's a door at the end of the hall," the Doctor began to lead them down towards it.

"Are you sure?"

"Not at all," the Doctor smiled, continuing down the tunnel through the door, only to stop just on the other side when they saw it was a large chamber filled with even more of the warriors in stasis, "Ah..."

"Wow," Mo murmured, "We don't stand a chance."

The Doctor grimaced at the sight, so he looked down quickly when the sonic began to beep. He held it up, looking up at the ceiling of the chamber, and then back at the reading, his eyes widening as he saw it was picking up a different species than the Silurians in the complex.

Another human...and another Time Lord.

~8~

"Shouldn't we be trying to, you know, escape?" Amy hissed at the Ambassador as they were escorted by the soldiers through a dense floral section of the complex, Restac and Malokeh leading the way.

"That only makes us come across as hostile," the Ambassador murmured, "From what I know of the Silurian culture, an Elder _must_ be present at all executions. They can only be done with an Elder's approval. We just have to get there and then I can speak to them."

"Wouldn't be that hard to escape though," Amy continued to speak quietly to her, glancing around, "There don't seem to be that many of them."

"The others are probably in hibernation still."

"Why are they in hibernation to begin with?"

"I've only read about them briefly," the Ambassador warned her, "What I remember, they thought something was about to crash into the Earth, so they hid underground, but it ended up just being the Moon forming."

"How can you know that?" Malokeh asked as he and Restac stopped their march to turn and face her.

"My people were great collectors of knowledge," she told them, "We observed, and learned everything we could about time and space and those who existed within it."

Restac rolled her eyes at that and turned to continue leading the way, approaching a very large building that shot out through the trees with spires, bring them right into the middle of what appeared to be a courtroom.

"You're not authorized to do this!" Malokeh hissed at Restac as they moved further in, not having thought she would actually go through with this.

The Ambassador watched their discussion carefully, seeing that she had been at least correct about that, an elder was meant to be present and authorize this, not Restac.

"I'm authorized to protect the safety of our species while they sleep!" the woman hissed back, looking over at the two women, "This is our court and our place of execution."

Before the Ambassador could even open her mouth to try and request the presence of an Elder for the execution, another voice shouted out, "Let them go!"

Right at that moment the Doctor burst into the room with another man, a human man, holding some sort of weapon while the Doctor had his sonic raised as though it would do much of anything.

"You're covered both ways, so don't try anything clever," the human man spoke, the one who had yelled just before.

"Doctor!" Amy shouted, relieved to see him.

The Ambassador wasn't sure exactly how she felt it seeing the Doctor there. On one hand, she was glad to see he was at least alive, they needed to have that talk. But, on the other hand, from the stories she knew of how much could go wrong when the Doctor was around, she was a little anxious about how this situation would turn out as a result.

"Amy Pond!" the Doctor pointed at her, "Ambasador," he offered a hesitant smile, seeming to notice her conflicting emotions about his arrival.

"Doctor," she greeted neutrally.

"Let them go, or I shoot," the man continue to warn even as Restac stepped closer, "I'm warning you!"

"You gave him a gun?" the Ambassador turned to look at the Doctor.

"No, he took it!"

"And you didn't try to take it back?"

"He had a gun!"

Restac didn't seem at all frightened by the weapon being aimed at her, for she reached out and grabbed the gun, yanking it out of the man's hand and shoving him to the ground. The other soldiers that had been accompanying the Ambassador and Amy quickly rushed forward to grab hold of the Doctor and the fallen man.

"Alright, Restac," Malokeh tried to appease, "You've made your point."

"This is now a military tribunal," the woman stated, striding right up to the scientist and glaring at him, "Go back to your laboratory, Malohkeh."

Malokeh shook his head, even as he was nudged by one of the soldiers jabbing at him with their gun, "This isn't the way," he warned her, but turned to leave regardless, glancing back at the Ambassador as he went.

Restac spun around to face her fellow soldiers, "Prepare them for execution."

The warriors quickly shoved the four towards pillars stationed just at the end of the room, making short work of tying them up.

"That escape plan was looking pretty good right now, isn't it?" Amy grumbled to the Ambassador.

"I'm glad you're both ok," the Doctor spoke to them softly.

"I'd be more ok if they would allow an Elder present to authorize this execution," the Ambassador murmured.

"Do you think they're actually going to go through with it?" the human man asked, sounding frantic.

"Well, Plan B, we can hope that Restac cares more about her own gene-chain than any human or Time Lord..."

The Doctor frowned at that, somewhat confused, but his attention was quickly drawn over to the soldiers who lined up as though a firing squad, yet made no move to actually fire, "What are they waiting for?"

"Oi!" Amy tried to smack him with her arms, but couldn't manage it so she kicked him lightly in the side of his ankle with her foot, "Don't complain!"

There was a sound of an electrical buzzing noise, followed by a flash of light, and a projection appeared before them, like a holographic screen through which they could see Ambrose, Rory, Nasreen, and Tony.

"Oh, my God," Ambrose gasped when she noticed them.

"Who is the ape leader?" Restac demanded.

"It's them. How are they doing that? How do they know that we're in here?"

"Who speaks for the apes?!"

The Ambassador frowned when she saw Ambrose rush off to the side of the screen, with what looked like a tarp in her hand. She was praying to every deity she could think of in every Pantheon across the stars that she hadn't been too late.

"She said you," Nasreen pointedly said to Rory, referencing the Ambassador's earlier words.

"Um..." Rory stepped closer, "I speak for the...Humans. Some of us, anyway."

"Do you understand who we are?" Restac began.

"Sort of. A bit. Not really."

"We have ape hostages."

Apparently the projection on the human side of the conversation widened because Rory suddenly gasped as though just noticing them, "Amy! Sadie! Doctor!"

"Mo!" Ambrose cried out, "Mo, are you ok?"

"I'm fine, love!" the human male called, "I've found Elliot. I'm bringing him home!"

"Amy," Rory sounded both relieved and a little annoyed, "I told you to come straight back!"

"To be fair I _was_ going to," Amy offered.

"You shoved your way into the TARDIS and demanded to come with me," the Ambassador countered.

"Yeah but you were never going to let me go," Amy rolled her eyes, "The TARDIS just fell through a hole before she could shove me out the door again."

"Not to interrupt," the Doctor cut in lightly, "But just a quick reminder to stay calm."

"Show me Alaya," Restac demanded, "Show me and release her, immediately, unharmed, or we kill your friends…one by one."

"Keep calm," the Ambassador shouted over to the humans, "She cannot execute us without an Elder present, whether she authorizes it herself or not."

"We didn't start this!" Ambrose shouted at Restac.

"You did," the Ambassador reminded them, "Unintentionally, I'll give you that, but it was your drill that encroached upon their dwelling. Now let Rory speak, Ambrose."

"No! We're not doing what you say any more. Now, give me back my family!"

Restac sneered, "No. Execute the girl."

"No!" Rory shouted when one of the soldiers freed Amy only to move her in front of the firing squad, "No, wait! She's not speaking for us!"

"There's no need for this!" the Doctor called.

"Listen! Listen! Whatever you want...we'll do it!"

"Aim," Restac ordered her soldiers, unperturbed with Rory's pleading.

"Amy!"

"Rory!" Amy gasped.

"Restac!" the Ambassador shouted at the same time that the Doctor called out, "Don't do this!"

"No!" Rory seemed about to try and leave through the projection...

But it suddenly cut off with Restac's final order, "Fire!"

A/N: Little bit of a foreshadowing there. I think that was one of the few things I like about the 12th Doctor when he was trying to work out who he was, how he's not a hugger now. Because it fit with THIS story very well as a possible 'watch out' moment for him.

There were some concerns in other Time Lady stories I wrote about how the Doctor becomes a little 'not-believable' if he finds himself in a position where he has to choose between the Time Lady or others he cares about and he is of the mind to pick the Time Lady because he loves them and doesn't want to be the last anymore. I wanted to sort of take that critique and expand on it as a literal compulsion. In this story, the Doctor may reach a point where he _cannot help it_. It is a basic, biological, primal instinct. In this story he literally starts to care less about others the longer he's around the Ambassador, something exacerbated and sped up with physical contact. It may take millennia for him to reach that point, but the touching only increases that bond/connection. And as much as he wants to stop that, at least for now, he can't give Sadie up either, he can't send her away or deny her. He's been deprived of any Gallifreyan connection for over a century and he _needs it_ too much to be the one to send her away. And the Ambassador, as much as she tries to push it away, she IS affected by it too. She should leave, now, while she can, but she can't make herself do it, not even after finding out what the Doctor did to Gallifrey.

In this story, the Doctor WILL pick the Time Lady every time, even more so after they finally fall in love on their own, because every single instinct inside him is saying to protect her, and every care he has for anyone but her will diminish as time goes on. He won't be able to stop it or fight it, and at one point or another, he won't even care to fight it or stop it. I really wanted to explore that aspect that some had qualms with in other stories. It'll be a very long time away from now, it's not going to be instant or happen over night, it won't be like a switch flipping that he suddenly just stops caring, it'll be gradual and happen little by little, but it will happen eventually.

So you have to wonder, what would the Doctor be like if he literally CANNOT care about anyone else but the Time Lady?

It also brings up interesting questions as to how Sadie and the Doctor might genuinely fall in love when they can never touch each other for fear of speeding up the connection. What can they do about that? What loopholes can they find? IS it true what they've heard about Alphegas or is it propaganda? Are they willing to risk that it's not true? :/ Gotta admit, I get a bit of a Pushing Daisies vibe from the Doctor and Sadie with the 'don't touch' thing ;)

I also wanted to look more into Sadie and her role as an Ambassador. There had been a few concerns and questions about how she can do what she does when Time Lords aren't supposed to interfere, but only to watch. In a sense, she isn't interfering until the laws of time itself demand her to take action. She offers suggestions on how to end a conflict, but she can't MAKE them do as she suggests. She observes other species to help update the records on Gallifrey, to make sure they're accurate. And only when timelines are in danger, when established events are at risk of changing, can she actually take action :) Hope that helped clear things up here. Ambassador is a blanket term for an official of Gallifrey who is meant to represent the planet and people when they go offworld. If you and a friend go on a business trip together, you for work, them to tag along, what THEY do doesn't impact the business you represent, they don't work for that company. But what YOU do does, you are representing the company, sort of thing ;)

Some notes on reviews...

I understand, and it's intentional that the Doctor comes across like he only cares about humans/earth at first. This is told from Sadie's influence, her perspective. She sees the Doctor as someone who avoided the war for his own planet to have adventures with the humans, that he chose them repeatedly over his own people. From her perspective he cares more for humans than other aliens. It will change over time, but her views color the way the story is told ;)

That's something I'll be exploring with Sadie, how she observes traits in others. It's not 'all humans are all good' but more 'I see something in this particular person that has potential' like with Rory, and it's something she'll see in other non-humans as the story goes that may throw the Doctor for a loop :) Amy definitely reminded me of Rose with her 'I know best' talk and there's going to be a moment where Sadie (or even the Doctor) talks to her about that ;)

I really want Sadie to be able to actually get a mediation going that sticks, Restac is quite a loose cannon though... }:)


	10. Cold Blood (Part Two)

Cold Blood (Part Two)

The Doctor had just gotten the sonic out, ready to use it on the weapons aimed at Amy, to short-circuit them, when another voice shouted out, "Stop!" and the soldiers immediately stood down as Malokeh entered the room with another Silurian, clearly one of the elders, for if Restac was the leader of the army, there would only be one authority above her that could get the soldiers to listen, "You want to start a war, while the rest of us sleep, Restac?"

"The apes are attacking us!" she defended.

"No!" the Ambassador called out to the Elder, "No, actually, they're not. Very big misunderstanding, something I was requesting an Elder to explain to this entire time."

The Elder did not look pleased to hear that, turning a firm look to Restac, "You're our protector, not our commander, Restac. Unchain them."

"I do not recognize your authority at this time, Eldane," the Silurian spat.

The man seemed used to her resistance and smirked, "Well, then, you must shoot me.'"

The Ambassador smirked, not needing to know much of Silurian culture to know that having an elder of any sort demanding to be shot by one of the leaders of the army would only serve to end with that leader's demise if they gave the order.

Restac seemed to realize that as well for she glowered at Eldane and strode over to Malokeh even as her soldiers did as Eldane commanded and began to unchain their prisoners, "You woke him to undermine me."

"We're not monsters," Malokeh remarked, "And neither are they."

"What is it about apes you love so much? Mmm?"

"While you slept, they've evolved. I've seen it for myself."

"We used to hunt apes for sport. When we came underground, they bred and polluted this planet."

"Shush now, Restac," Eldane seemed to have far more common sense than Restac, knowing not to insult another species, especially not after trying to execute them, it would do nothing to show they weren't monsters, "Go and play soldiers. I'll let you know if I need you."

"You'll need me," she sneered, "Then we'll see," but left.

"Thank you for releasing us," the Ambassador spoke to Eldane, "There is one other of the surface who was taken down here. If he could be returned to us, we would be more than happy to have one of our associates on the surface bring Alaya home as well. Hostages would not help the situation."

"I agree," Eldane spoke, "We can send up transport discs for you."

"That would be much appreciated."

As soon as the chains were off of the Doctor he made a break for one of the control panels that Restac's soldiers had been using to contact Rory and the others, flashing the sonic to create the connection once more, "Rory!" he shouted as soon as he saw the humans quite frantically talking over the monitor, "Hello!"

Rory ran onto the screen, instantly demanding, "Where's Amy?"

"She's fine, Rory," the Ambassador assured him, coming to stand near the Doctor, not close enough to see Rory on the screen.

"Yes, look, here, she is," the Doctor moved to the side so Rory could see Amy standing behind them.

"Oh, thank God," Rory breathed.

"Keeping you on your toes!" Amy gave a wave.

"No time to chat," the Doctor returned to the screen, "Listen, you need to get down here..."

"The Silurians have agreed to send transport discs, so you can bring Alaya back home," the Ambassador explained, "They should end up back in the drill room, on those patches of Earth."

"Geothermal energy and gravity bubble-technology. It's how they travel and frankly it's pretty cool."

The Ambassador shook her head, that information wasn't relevant or important at the moment, getting Alaya back to her home was, "We return Alaya to them, they return Elliot to us."

"Got to dash! Hurry up!" he hit a button to end the communication, much to the Ambassador's exasperation, for what if Rory had questions or concerns or something he needed to ask.

But she shook her head, focusing on the task at hand, this entire situation was one giant mess, and it needed to be dealt with and sorted. She made her way over to Eldane, "Is there somewhere we could talk about all this," she glanced over at Amy, "I think there's quite a bit to talk about. What to do with Earth being a major topic."

"This way," Eldane nodded, gesturing to the side of the courtroom where a table was set up for discussions and where the mediations would happen. This felt like an opportune moment to use it.

"Amy," the Ambassador called, gesturing the confused girl over, "Time to represent Earth," she told the girl, offering her a seat on one side while Eldane sat on the other, "You both want to live on the planet, and you both have equal claims to it. That's what you're going to talk about."

"Hold on, I thought YOU were going to do the talking!" Amy shook her head.

"I'm not authorized to negotiate on behalf of humanity," the Ambassador told her, "Time Lords aren't authorized to speak on behalf of any planet besides Gallifrey and only the Ambassadors have the capacity to do that."

"But the Doctor…"

"Is breaking the laws of non-interference at every turn," she cut Amy off, "We are never to interfere, only to watch. The only exception is when a Time Lord is specifically requested to act as mediator or when the laws of time itself are in jeopardy. I assume you want my assistance…"

"I'd like a lot more than that," Amy muttered.

"I can help and act as mediator," she looked between Amy and Eldane, "I can make suggestions, but I can't force you to accept them."

"We may need an unbiased third party," Eldane remarked, realizing that though she looked like an ape, the Ambassador was not of Earth and, therefore, the Earth was not a concern or interest to her.

"Which is my cue to leave," the Doctor at least could admit as much. While, in this case, he could understand that the Silurians had first claim to the Earth, but that the humans also lived there more actively for far longer, and that he wanted both sides to be able to share the planet to avoid war…he hadn't exactly had the BEST experience being taken by the Silurians and then gassed and then nearly dissected, so maybe he wouldn't be the one to help in this case.

Amy frowned at the Doctor's words, how he glanced at the Ambassador when he spoke, seeming like he was hoping it would make her happy. She looked between the two Time Lords, "Is this what happens, in the future, the planet gets shared? Is that what we need to do?"

"Ambassador?" the Doctor looked to her for that.

While all Time Lords could see the curve of time, what could be, what must be, what must not happen, the Ambassadors were a bit more trained on that. They had to be. When they were helping in negotiations, they needed to be sure the suggestions they made would not severely or significantly alter time. They had to examine a situation to make sure it was a turning point and not a fixed point.

"Fixed points in time exist, where what happens MUST always happen exactly the way they are, the end result MUST be the same," the Ambassador explained to Amy, not sure if the girl knew of them yet, "Right here, right now, this is a turning point. The future may change with what is decided here today, or events may play out as they were always meant to. Only one way to find out."

"So the future of Earth hangs in the balance," Amy muttered to herself, "Great, no pressure there, then."

"I'll be here to help," the Ambassador reminded her.

"Right," Amy sighed, rubbing her head, "So, find a way to share the planet, and then find a way to get the 6 billion humans who live on it to agree."

"Exactly."

Amy shot her a glare.

The Doctor, however, chuckled a bit, and rapped on the table with his fist gently, "Bringing things to order, the first meeting of representatives of the human race and homo reptilian is now in session. Ha! Never said that before, that's fab! Carry on!" he pointed at the Ambassador with a wink, though his smile faltered at the unimpressed look she gave him that told him she'd rather be having a different conversation right now. He gave her a nod both in understanding and in promise, before he turned to Mo and Malokeh who had been standing quietly, though not quite patiently in Mo's case, behind him, "Now, Mo, let's go and get your son," he patted the man on the back carefully as they followed Malokeh out, "Oh, you know, humans, and their predecessors, shooting the breeze. Never thought I'd see it."

The Ambassador shook her head, but looked back at Eldane and Amy, "Alright, best way to begin, state each side so the other can hear a new perspective and gain understanding. Eldane?"

"Well," he started, "We lived on the surface of the planet, long before you did," he spoke to Amy, meaning humans in general and not just her, "Our sole purpose has been to return to our rightful place."

"Amy?"

"While you were sleeping, humans evolved," she kept glancing at the Ambassador, feeling out of her depth but wanting to be sure she wasn't making it worse, "We've spread out and established civilizations and cities of our own. And, if I can be honest…we've already put a strain on our resources as it is."

"So you're concerned that the planet can't sustain another civilization and flood of beings," the Ambassador added, trying to help explain to Eldane the human concern that would come up.

"Yeah, that."

The Ambassador nodded, "Do both sides understand the other?" they nodded, "Any questions for each other regarding the concerns?" they shook their head, "Is there anything you want to add to me that might help with potential suggestions?" both sides were silent a moment before shaking their heads, "Right then, as Ambassadors of your species, you both have much to lose, but even more to gain if you look at this in the right light…" she trailed off a moment, "Might I make a suggestion?"

"Please!" Amy nearly begged as Eldane chuckled but nodded.

"The Silurian people thrive in warmer climates?" she asked Eldane, wanting to be sure.

"The cold would be harder to endure," he spoke, "We thrive in the warmth."

The Ambassador nodded, "There are warm climates and spaces on Earth. Too warm for humans to endure," she looked to Amy who began to nod herself.

"Yeah, yeah, like the Australian outback," Amy began to list, "The Sahara desert, Nevada plains...they're not habitable to humans."

"But they may be to the Silurian race," the Ambassador finished, looking to Eldane, "They are largely dry, desert areas. Warm and expansive. From what I've seen of your tech, it would be quite easy to terraform those areas to your specifications."

"Our flora can grow anywhere," Eldane agreed, "And once they take root, they can easily transform an area to suit our needs."

"Step one," the Ambassador smiled at them, "A possibility for coexistence. A way to live without using the resources the humans are already rationing. Now, do either side see any issues that may arise from this suggestion?"

Amy seemed hesitant as she raised a hand to speak, "Looking at the long run…um, what do we do if the species grows and breeds and spreads? When the deserts and those areas aren't enough?"

The Ambassador nodded, "It is a valid concern," she could say, looking to Eldane, "In order for the humans to accept this, all the potential concerns they have must be predicted and have a solution already in place. The same as if the humans sought refuge in your city."

"I understand," Eldane remarked, "Our species is not as expansive as you may think," he chuckled to Amy, "What you see in our stronghold is all of our species that exists on this planet. If welcomed back to the surface, we would bring with us new sources of energy, new methods of water supply, new medicines, scientific advances."

"That would be more than enough to assist the human race with their resources," the Ambassador agreed, looking to Amy, "And if they expand, it stands to reason that they would be able to continue with their resource conservation along the way."

"We were a great civilization," Eldane reminded Amy, "You provide a place for us on the surface, we'll give you knowledge and technology beyond humanity's dreams. We work together, this planet could achieve greatness."

Amy smiled at that, "I definitely think I see it now."

"Step Two," the Ambassador smiled at them, "Resolve potential issues, well under way. Well done, both of you."

They looked over when the sound of applause began to sound to see the Doctor standing there with Mo and Elliot, "Not bad for a first session," he smiled at them, "More similarities than differences."

Eldane looked up when a whooshing noise went off above them, "The transport has returned. Your friends are here."

A moment later, Rory entered the room, looking a little in shock, but the way he was looking at them and not the room or beings around them made the Ambassador frown.

"Here they are," the Doctor waved at them as Ambrose entered next.

"Mum!" Elliot ran for her.

"Rory!" and Amy ran for him too.

But then Rory's shock seemed to come across to the Doctor as well.

His smile fell, "Something's wrong..."

"Rory," the Ambassador quickly approached him, "What happened?"

Her question was answered only a moment later when Tony entered with Nasreen helping him, the man carrying a body in a shroud.

"Rory…" the Ambassador gave him a pointed look.

"It was my fault," Rory stepped up, "I was tending to an injury Tony had. I wasn't watching her and…"

"I did it," Ambrose spoke as the Doctor moved over to where Tony had laid the shroud down, pulling the sheet to the side to see a young Silurian woman.

"Did the life of your son mean nothing to you?" the Ambassador shook her head at the woman.

"He means everything to me!" she snapped.

"I specifically told you that if you hurt her, it would give others every right to harm Elliot in return! And you KILL her instead!" she was so disappointed and shocked with Ambrose's actions she didn't even notice the Doctor reach out and gently tug her back by her elbow.

"Mum?" Elliot looked at the woman, now having the confirmation that his mother had killed someone.

"I just wanted you back," Ambrose looked to her son, but Elliot just shook his head at her and stepped back towards his father.

The Ambassador looked to Eldane, knowing from experience how badly a situation like this could go when lives had been taken. It was why Ambassadors always insisted that both sides come to a ceasefire or an armistice before negotiations and mediation could begin. She had thought she'd taken care of it with Ambrose, reminding her her son's life would be on the line, that she could get the Silurians to agree to it after she spoke to the Elder, which appeared to have happened anyway. She had been wrong, "Eldane, I…"

"No," Amy reached out to touch her arm, "I'M the Ambassador right now, this is on me," she looked to Eldane, "I'm sorry, I'm so sorry. I didn't know they'd done this when we spoke."

"They're normally better than this," the Doctor assured the man, understanding the severity of this.

But Ambrose didn't, shouting out, "This is our planet!"

"And we were reaching an accord!" the Ambassador told the woman, striding over to her, "Which you just tore to shreds. You realize," she lowered her voice, making sure Ambrose heard her and understood her, "If they declare war on humanity after all, it will be on your head. Your son may die _because_ of what you've done."

Before Ambrose could speak, Restac reentered the room with a few armed soldiers, her gaze going directly to the body on the floor, "My sister!" she gasped, rushing to Alaya and letting out a wail before covering her once more, "And you want us to trust these apes?!" she snapped up at the group before her.

"One woman," the Doctor tried to salvage, working out what happened, the woman had feared for her son and killed Alaya because of it, "She was scared for her family. She's not typical."

The Ambassador bit her lip to keep from speaking about how that was exactly typical of any mother who feared for their child ever, they wanted to remove the threat.

Unfortunately Restac seemed to realize that without her saying so, "I think she is."

"The Humans were exploring," the Ambassador turned to Eldane, "They meant no harm to you or your people, but they were attacked by your soldiers. Her child was taken first. I negotiated with Alaya myself for his return and she refused, she threatened war, perhaps she threatened the child's life. Both sides believed the lives of their people were in danger, we cannot allow this to escalate into true loss of life. An alliance can still be had."

"It's too late for that," Ambrose spoke.

The Ambassador tensed and looked over at her, Rory and Nasreen appeared confused though Tony looked guilty, "…what?"

It was clear to all of them that the Ambassador was NOT happy to hear that.

"Why?" the Doctor looked between the two humans.

"Our drill is set to start burrowing again in..." Ambrose checked a stopwatch from her pocket, "15 minutes."

"What?!" Nasreen shouted, sounding completely betrayed they would use her technology this way.

"Are you insane!?" the Ambassador shook her head at the woman, before turning a look to the Doctor, unable to understand how he could possibly have favored this species as his companions when they were so ready for war and so easily ruled by their fear. She couldn't help but thank the stars that she'd never had the misfortune of having to help mediate the humans before now.

"What choice did I have?" Tony spoke, though he was answering Nasreen more than anyone else, "They had Elliot."

"Don't do this," the Doctor looked to the Silurians, "Don't call their bluff."

"Let us go back," Ambrose continued to threaten, "And you promise to never come to the surface ever again. We'll walk away, leave you alone."

"You don't have any right to demand that," the Ambassador defended, "Just as they have no right to ask you all to leave your homes either."

"Execute her!" Restac snarled, done with any talks of negotiations.

"No!" the Doctor rushed forward to pull Ambrose down as the soldiers had no qualms following Restac's orders this time, "Everybody, back to the lab! Run!"

The Ambassador could see this had devolved into hostilities, that lives were in danger, and grabbed the nearest humans, Mo and Elliot to lead the way as they rushed out of the room to the shouts of Restac to "Execute all the apes!"

The Ambassador looked over her shoulder to see the Doctor pull out his sonic screwdriver, flashing it at the guns as he had intended to do for Amy earlier, short-circuiting them and causing some to explode. She could hear him shouting something at the Silurian guards, trying to give them more time to get away, but eventually they began to encroach upon him and he had to turn and flee after them.

"Take everyone to the lab!" the Doctor shouted ahead, to Mo who was the only one there who had been in the tunnels and knew where the lab was, "I'll cover you! Go! Go!"

"Doctor!" Amy seemed about to try and stop and turn around just as the Doctor had, but the Ambassador grabbed her arm and pushed her on, following Mo.

They ran into the lab, the Ambassador immediately going to the controls to try and shut the doors behind them, able to see the Doctor on surveillance screens as he finished speaking with the Silurians who had followed, before turning and bolting into the lab. She hit a button and shut the doors, the Doctor quickly sonicing them completely locked.

"Sadie keep your eyes on that screen," he pointed to the one next to her, "Let me know if we get company. Amy," he tossed the stopwatch keyed nicked off of Ambrose to Amy, "Keep reminding me how much time I haven't got."

"Ok, 12 minutes till drill impact," Amy read.

"Instead of attacking us they should be working to attack the drill," the Ambassador murmured to herself, but did as requested and kept her eye on the approaching soldiers.

"Tony," the Doctor began, moving over to where Tony was sitting on a chair, sweating profusely with labored breath, Nasreen beside him looking concerned, "Sweaty forehead, dilated pupils, what're you hiding?"

"He got stung earlier," Rory told the Doctor as he moved to assist the man with treating Tony.

Tony winced, starting to open his shirt to show that it was much worse than just a sting on his neck that Rory had treated, but that there was an entire infection scattered across his chest. The veins were bulging and discolored.

"Tony!" Nasreen gasped, having been there when Rory was treating Tony's neck for the sting, but not having seen this, "What happened?!"

"Alaya's sting," Tony panted as the Doctor scanned the area with the sonic, "She said there's no cure. I'm dying, aren't I?"

The Doctor examined the reading the sonic had gotten and shook his head, "You're not dying, you're mutating. How can I stop it?" he began to mutter to himself, "Decontamination program! Might work, don't know. Eldane," he turned to the Elder that had fled with them, "Can you run the program on Tony?"

"They're surrounding us now," the Ambassador told them.

"So," the Doctor spoke as he and Eldane helped Tony into the decontamination chamber, "Question is, how we do stop the drill, given we can't get there in time? Plus also, how do we get out, given that we're surrounded?"

"Geothermal energy?" the Ambassador suggested, not realizing he had been more talking to himself than actually asking for suggestions as her attention was fixed on the screens, "It's the only power source we can get to at the moment."

The Doctor blinked, staring at her, that was brilliant, before he turned to Nasreen, "Nasreen, how d'you feel about an energy pulse, channeled up through the tunnels to the base of the drill?"

"To blow up my life's work?" the woman gaped.

"Yes. Sorry. No nice way of putting that."

"Right, well, you're going to have to do it before the drill hits the city, in..."

"11 minutes, 40 seconds..." Amy answered.

"Yes!" the Doctor cheered, "Squeaky bum time!"

"Yes, but the explosion is going to cave in all the surrounding tunnels so we have to be on the surface by then," Nasreen reminded him.

"But we can't get past Restac's troops," Rory pointed out.

"I can help with that..." Eldane offered, moving over to a control panel, "Toxic Fumigation. An emergency failsafe meant to protect my species from infection. A warning signal to occupy cryo-chambers. After that, citywide fumigation...by toxic gas. Then the city shuts down."

"You could end up killing your own people," Amy frowned.

"We can't ask you to do that, Eldane," the Ambassador glanced over at him.

"I am offering," Eldane told her, smiling gently at her for the concern she showed him and his people, "Only those foolish enough to follow Restac would be affected, those are not the sort that will help our people in the end."

"Eldane, are you sure about this?" the Doctor asked, and the Ambassador looked over at him for the emotion in his voice.

"My priority is my race's survival. The Earth isn't ready for us to return yet."

"No."

"10 minutes, Doctor," Amy called.

"They don't deserve to lose their home over this," the Ambassador looked over at the Doctor, taking no pleasure in the way he flinched at her words.

"You're right," he admitted, "The Earth _should_ be ready. So here's the deal. Everybody listening? Eldane, you activate shutdown...I'll amend the system, set your alarm for 1,000 years' time," he waited till Eldane moved to the controls, "1,000 years, to sort the planet out. To be ready. Pass it on. As legend, or prophesy, or religion, but somehow, make it known. This planet is to be shared."

"Yeah," Elliot spoke, the only one of the humans to agree, "I get you."

"Nine minutes, seven seconds," Amy reported.

The Doctor moved over to the control panel beside Eldane, "Yes, fluid controls, my favorite! Energy pulse timed, primed and set!"

"There was an energy barricade erected," the Ambassador informed him, "Be sure to cancel that out before you do anything else. It won't do us any good if we could set the surface and get trapped inside a dome."

The Doctor pointed a finger at her and then went back to the controls, sorting that out, flashing the sonic as he went.

"Fumigation pre-launching," Eldane told them.

"There's not much time for us to get from here to the surface, Doctor!" Rory called, glancing at the stopwatch in Amy's hand.

"Ah ha, super-squeaky bum time! Get ready to run for your lives. Now..."

"But the decontamination program on your friend hasn't started yet," Eldane spoke up, and everyone turned to see Tony still in the chamber, still in the same infectious stage as before.

"Well, go," he urged as though it were obvious, "All of you! Go."

"No, we're not leaving you here!" Ambrose argued.

"Granddad!" Elliot rushed to his grandfather's side to hug him tightly.

"Eight minutes, 10 seconds," Amy warned.

The Ambassador looked back at the screens to give Tony and his family more privacy to say goodbye. She had to close her eyes at the thoughts in her mind, but that was something she had not gotten to do, both because of falling through the crack in time, but also because their planet was gone. She would never be able to say goodbye to the friends and family she still had left. She looked up only when the Tannoy began to blare, "Toxic fumigation initiated. Toxic fumigation initiated…"

Eldane had activated the program.

She looked back at the screens to see it was just as Eldane had hoped, the other soldiers were heading back to their pods, "They're going. Right," she looked at the others, "Get ready to run and follow me," she spared a glance at the Doctor, who nodded in agreement.

He stepped forward and opened the doors with the sonic, allowing them out, the Ambassador in the lead, the woman not trusting that Amy had been paying enough attention to lead the others back to the TARDIS.

The Ambassador tried to ignore the sounds around her as she led the way through the twisting tunnels. The alarms going off, the blaring noises, the knowledge that poisonous gas was about to be released, all it did was remind her of the war. She could still remember the sounds of the alarms blaring whenever a Dalek attack was about to happen, she could remember not being able to breathe whenever bombs were dropped and the dust was just that thick. She had to keep looking back over her shoulder as she ran to see the humans there, to remind herself she wasn't still in the war, it wasn't the Daleks that were attacking.

"Immediate evacuation..." the tannoy kept repeating, "Toxic fumigation is about to commence."

"Keep going," she shouted to the humans, when Mo, Elliot, and Ambrose stopped at the sight of the Silurian city, it was the same sight she and Amy had spotted of the true structure, the city sitting in a pool of magma with a single bridge connecting it to the tunnels around it.

"Come on!" the Doctor agreed as he reached them with Amy and Rory, shoving the humans on after the Ambassador. They raced through the twisting tunnels, finally coming up to the TARDIS.

"No questions," the Doctor shouted at the humans as he rushed to unlock the doors, "Just get in! And yes, I know it's big!" he shoved the doors open, ushering the humans on, "Ambrose, sickbay up the stairs, left, then left ag..." he shook his head as though he were crazy, "Sadie, would you?" he looked to the Ambassador and nodded his head into the TARDIS where the humans had stopped to gape at the size within.

"Don't call me that," she muttered under her breath but stepped into the TARDIS to usher to humans in more, leading them up into the halls of the TARDIS herself.

She wasn't sure if she had actually gone up and then left and then left again, but it appeared the TARDIS, in a rare show of helping her out, had moved the doors around so that the med-bay was the first door she opened. She got the feeling the TARDIS did it less to help her and more to help the humans the Doctor had been directing to it.

"Alright," she got the humans inside, managing to make her way to a cabinet, rummaging around, trying to find a first aid kit that might suit the humans. For how many times she had heard about the Doctor and his human companions, it only made sense that he would have a first aid kit just for them. And, luckily, she found it rather quickly, pulling it out and tossing it on top of the nearest table, "Here's everything you should need if any of you have injuries..." she looked between the three humans, not sure if any of them had sustained wounds as she couldn't see anything.

" Wait!" Mo called as she had turned to head out the door once more, and she turned back around to see the man unbuttoning her shirt, "Please, I just...that lizard man, he...he cut me open," he held the shirt to the side to show the incision mark down his chest, Ambrose gasping in horror, "Am I infected too?"

The Ambassador nearly groaned, but looked around, managing to find what appeared to be a scanner. It was quite beat up, quite old in the tech that was used, but it was clearly Gallifreyan made. She moved over to it, hitting a few buttons that were familiar to her, trying to power it on, and managed to do it. She glanced back over at Mo, "Can you come over here, this isn't mobile."

Mo nodded and moved to stand before the scanner, the Ambassador moving it slightly at an angle to scan where they needed her to. She turned it on and a red stream of light began to shine out of it from just below the incision mark. She pulled the monitor back, moving it up slightly as the scanning light moved up Mo's body to the top of the incision. She tapped a few more buttons, the program running what felt like the slowest speed ever, until it finally showed her the results of the scan.

"What's all those circles mean?" Elliot asked, having come to look at the results himself, but it was all in Gallifreyan and the boy couldn't understand a word of it.

She quickly read what was flying across the screen and looked at Mo, "No infection, but it may scar. There's no traces of Silurian anything on you or in you."

"Oh, thank God," Ambrose sighed, relieved, turning to hug her husband.

"But go through that pack if there's anything you need," the Ambassador repeated, "And when you're done, just go out the doors and ask to go to the console room, the ship will get you right to it."

For as much as the TARDIS didn't like her, she didn't think it would be so cruel as to trap the humans somewhere in there. And even if it was, the Doctor would find some way to talk the TARDIS into letting them out. She gave them one more nod, before stepping out of the doors herself, only to find that the TARDIS had already set a path to the console room, it was right down the end of the hall.

"What now?" she did groan this time when she heard the sound of shouting coming from the console room.

"...you doing?!" Amy was screaming, "Doctor! No! No! No! Doctor, we can't just leave him there!"

"Doctor what..." the Ambassador stopped short as she entered the console room to see Amy hitting the Doctor on the chest with her fists as he hugged her.

She saw him and Amy...but no Rory.

"Where's Rory?" she asked, stepping in. Tony had decided to stay with Eldane, and from how Nasreen acted around him she assumed the woman would be staying with him. But Rory had been running with the rest of the humans to the TARDIS, there was no reason why he shouldn't be in the console room too. And why was Amy crying, why was she sobbing and upset right now? What happened to Rory?

"Yes, exactly, where's Rory," the Doctor murmured, sounding as though he hadn't quite noticed the Ambassador had entered the room, he was so focused on Amy, "Keep him in your mind. Don't forget him. If you forget him, you'll lose him forever."

The Ambassador had just opened her mouth to ask what he meant by 'lose him forever' when Amy's next words answered her question.

"On the Byzantium, I still remembered the Clerics because I am a time traveler, now you said."

The Ambassador stopped where she was approaching, her eyes widening as she looked at the Doctor in horror. She may have been confused and overwhelmed by what was happening on the Byzantium when she fell through the crack in time, but she had been aware enough to work out what was going on. And from what Amy was saying, Rory had been swallowed by a crack in time just like the clerics had in the forest. He was being erased from time as they spoke, but the Doctor was trying his best to get Amy to remember him.

Her hand went to the necklace she wore, curling around pendant on the end of it.

"They weren't part of your world," the Doctor continue to speak to Amy, "This is different...This is your own history changing."

The Ambassador moved over to the console, quickly typing in command after command, trying to get the TARDIS to archive any footage and information it had on Rory, but half the information was already corrupt and erasing itself.

"Don't tell me it's going to be ok," Amy begged, "You have to make it ok!"

The Doctor moved Amy away from the console, to give the Ambassador more room to work, understanding what she was doing. If they could keep any information or footage about Rory in the TARDIS data banks, there might be a chance of Amy being able to remember later if she forgot now. But he desperately wanted to make sure she wouldn't forget now.

"It's going to be hard," he spoke to Amy, moving as though he wanted to take her hands, but pulled back at the last second, curling them into fists. And it may have been a good thing, touching her right now would only distract her and she needed to focus on Rory, "But you can do it, Amy. Tell me about Rory. Fantastic Rory, funny Rory, gorgeous Rory. Amy, listen to me. Do exactly as I say. Amy, please. Keep concentrating. You can do this."

"I can't," Amy sobbed.

"You can," he insisted, "You can do it. I can't help you unless you do. Come on. We can still save his memory. Come on, Amy. Please…Come on, Amy, come on. Amy, please. Don't let anything distract you. Remember Rory. Keep remembering, Rory is only alive in your memory. You must keep hold of him. Don't let anything distract you. Rory still lives in your mind."

"Doctor!" the Ambassador suddenly shouted, seeing that the dematerialization process was complete, and the TARDIS was about to touch down on the surface. But she was too late for the Doctor to brace Amy for it, without one of them actually piloting the landing was rocky and they all fell to the floor with a jolt of it.

It was obvious to the Time Lords that the Doctor's efforts had failed as Amy jumped up, a bright smile on her face and her words cheerful and excited, "What were you saying?"

The Doctor glanced over at the Ambassador, sorrow written across his face, and she shook her head. She still didn't understand what happened. She had stepped into the TARDIS, into the med-bay one second, and Rory had been alive. And then...it was like, moments later, he was gone and she didn't know what was going on.

"I have seen some things today," Mo called as he, Ambrose, and Elliot stepped into the room, having followed the Ambassador's directions, "But this is beyond mad."

At the sight of Mo, Amy seemed to remember what they had been doing before they lost Rory, for she looked down at the stopwatch that was back in her hand, "Doctor! Five seconds till it all goes up!"

She let out an excited laugh and rushed for the doors, the other humans following after her, all excited to watch the drill blow up. The Time Lords followed at a more sedate piece, gathering just outside the doors of where the TARDIS had materialized at the edge of the graveyard overlooking the drill. Not even a second later there was a small explosion as the drill went up in flames to the cheers for humans.

The Doctor looked over at the Ambassador, who just shook her head and stepped back into the TARDIS, shutting the door behind her. He rubbed his forehead, letting his hands slide down to his mouth as he stared out at the site.

~8~

"Amy went to rest," the Ambassador murmured when the Doctor finally stepped into the TARDIS console room, "She seemed out of sorts. But I suppose that's normal when one loses their husband and can't remember who they were," she swallowed hard and looked up at the Doctor, "What happened?"

He wrung his hands together as he slowly approached the console, not getting too close, as he feared if he stepped closer than where he was that the Ambassador would step away and he wasn't sure he could take that right now, "Restac survived poisoning, she attacked us, she attacked _me_. Rory jumped in the way."

The Ambassador looked away, taking a breath before she looked back at him, "Fatal wound?"

He hesitated only a moment before he shook his head slightly, "I probably could have saved him, but there was a crack in the wall, another crack in time. It already caught him in its hold. There was nothing I could do."

The Ambassador looked down at the monitor she had in front of her, there was only one image of Rory still in there. It was when the boy had first stepped into the TARDIS and stared at it in awe, wearing his red shirt with the hearts on it of him and Amy.

The Doctor took a single step closer to her, letting out a small breath when she didn't back away from him, "I tried," he promised her, "I tried to save him. I tried to save them..."

The Ambassador held up her hand, understanding he was entering from talking about Rory into talking about what happened on Gallifrey. She swallowed hard and looked up at him, "You owed me a conversation."

"Things...escalated. But we can talk now," he offered, taking another step closer, wincing when, this time, she DID step back, "You can ask me anything and I'll tell you, I promise, I'll..."

But she shook her head, "I fell out of that crack and everything was gone," she cut in, her voice cracking, "And I find out you were the reason why. I step into a TARDIS and out of the med-bay, and Rory's gone. And you were the reason why," she sniffed, looking away, unable to stand seeing the guilt and devastation on his face from her words. While she didn't know Rory well, while his death wasn't hitting her as hard as it clearly had Amy, it was the way it happened, the suddenness of it. She could feel it, that familiar anger and pain and sorrow coming up just as it had when she first learned the truth about the Dream Lord's words, "I can't talk to you right now. It's too much. It's too similar..."

"Ambassador, please," he nearly begged, "Please just...just give me a chance, I can explain everything. Just...just hear me out, please. Please, just hear me out."

"Not now," she told him, "Not right now," she added for more clarity, "Rory is gone, just like Gallifrey is gone and I don't think I can hear you out without feeling angry again. And I deserve to know the whole truth, and I deserve to be able to process it. And, maybe, you do deserve to be able to explain yourself. But I can't right now."

The Doctor was silent for a moment, processing her words, "...you're not leaving, then?" he asked her, his voice sounding more like a whimper than anything. But if she was saying she couldn't talk to him _right now_ , it meant she could later, and for her to be able to talk to him she had to BE there to talk to him. She probably knew by now he wasn't the best pilot, there would be no guarantee that, once he set her somewhere, he would ever be able to return to that exact place or time. She would have to stay there. He _prayed_ she was staying there with him.

"For now," was all she could offer him.

For now she would stay, but after they talked...after they talked, that was another story.

A/N: Firstly, apologies this is so late, I had an interview this morning in New York which I somewhat regret even applying to :/ Every time I go into the city I end up with a splitting headache. I don't know if it's the noises or the smell of it or just the stress I feel trying to drive in. I'm normally a nervous driver as it is, I always think I'm going to get hit ever since I was in an accident when I was little, so going into the city is terrifying for me. So really, shame on me for applying to a job based in the city when I know I'd never be able to survive just driving in every day. But I finally made it home and the headache started and staring at my computer screen made it that much worse :/ I've been trying to edit this chapter little by little so I could post it and FINALLY finished it now so I apologize if there may be any lingering errors :(

Which means I likely will not be getting the last chapter of United We Stand for Captain America up today so it'll be tomorrow, but at least we got this one :)

As for this chapter, I debated over whether to have Sadie be there when Rory got taken by the crack. But I felt like there was a more powerful parallel if she came back into the console room to see the Doctor and Amy but no Rory, to find out that he was lost so quickly and suddenly. Like she fell out of a crack and everything was gone, and now she steps into a room and Rory's gone. I felt like it would prolong the agony of the inevitable talk Sadie and the Doctor need to have. That loss of Rory so quickly and while the Doctor was 'watching out for him' was only going to remind the Ambassador of the war and her loss and what the Doctor did to end it and get her upset again. She couldn't talk to him now, not about that, not after another reminder of the war. She needs time to process this new loss too :'(

But I can say we're going to get their talk right at the start of the next chapter, they're going to sit down and talk and see where it goes from there ;)

As for the revelation of the Alphega, I'm really glad it's interested you guys :) It's really going to be fun exploring the boundaries of it and the potential propaganda behind it, if the Time Lord laws were what drove them to become feral or if it really IS the endgame of the bond };)

Some notes on reviews...

Lol, nothing to forgive, I'm actually quite pleased it got that reaction :) That was something I really wanted to look at. We had so many relationships that were lovely and happy and healthy, that I wanted to explore what would happen if two people fall in love but the connection between them IS the threat to the relationship :) How do two people with a potentially unhealthy connection manage to create a healthy relationship? How far would they take it? I'm really so glad that you liked that connection twist :D And thank you so much! I really try to improve with each story and character and world I try to make and when I look at where I am now compared to small things I wrote years and years ago that I haven't even posted, I feel like I've gotten much better. So to hear that it's not just me really meant the world to me. Thank you :')

I can say we'll see the Doctor's view on the connection before the end of this story ;)

No problem at all :) It was definitely a tricky thing to work around with the non-interference thing the Time Lords have going on ;) I'm not sure what chapter the Ambassador would be from, since this mostly follows the shows and not other material I haven't really thought on it much :) I don't see her being from a major chapter though. She's not as well known or powerful as the Doctor, she's just sort of the last of a large branch of Ambassadors :(

I was rooting for the Silurians too by the end of it all. Ambrose definitely pushed me over the edge of how obnoxious the humans were being. Like if your son is a hostage, the LAST thing you should EVER do is kill your own hostage. Basic logic, you kill theirs, they can kill yours. Bad parenting there :/

I'm glad you enjoy that about the Ambassador :) I feel like we really see the Doctor defend the humans so often, as though they are the victims and the aliens HAVE to be taking advantage of them. But the humans are just as capable of poor choices and the Ambassador is a bit more unbiased and trained to see both sides of things first :) It'll be interesting to see how they clash or work together as the story goes on :)

I'm very glad to be back and writing again too :D I'm sorry I worried you though! :( I'm definitely going to try and be more on top of posting any changes or breaks on tumblr or my profile so as not to worry people again. But don't say that! I'm sure your writing is absolutely wonderful ;) Thank you for the offer! At the moment I think I'm doing a little better with editing. Since I'm posting at a slower pace I can get editing done in between posts. Right now it's mostly about trying to catch up the stories and get them completed. Hopefully 2019 will be where I can really get back to focusing on one story at a time ;)


	11. Vincent and the Time Lords (Part One)

Vincent and the Time Lords (Part One)

The Doctor and the Ambassador sat in a small café within the Musee d'Orsay, both with a cup of tea resting on the table before them, Amy off somewhere to look at the artwork. They had agreed to meet up at the Van Gogh exhibit at a certain time. Amy had wanted to look at some other paintings and sculptured and the Doctor had made some sort of excuse for her to go on her own. Once Amy had wandered off, the first time the Doctor was ok with that, the two Time Lords had gone to the café to sit down and talk.

"I didn't want to fight in the war," the Doctor began after the silence between them stretched into discomfort, "I was the Doctor, I had a duty to care, to help and not harm. I thought I could still make a difference, trying to keep the affects of the war from reaching past our planet. I was wrong, and I failed," he admitted, rubbing his head, "I crashed on Karn and I forced a regeneration. That incarnation it wasn't the Doctor, it couldn't be, because he did fight in the war."

"So that's why we never heard of you fighting," the Ambassador remarked, "You didn't go by the Doctor, did you?"

"Called myself the warrior," he murmured, looking up at her, "I fought, I helped on-world. But…even being a warrior, it was…" he trailed off, knowing he didn't have to say anything else, she had been there, she knew what the war was like, "I couldn't stand it. I tried to find ways to end the war and then I found out I wasn't the only one. The High Council was planning the final sanction."

"Where they wanted to rip the vortex apart?" she asked, vaguely recalling it from what he'd tried to tell her before. She had promised herself she was going to listen to what he had to say fully and try to keep a level head. She needed to hear his entire version of the truth.

"Yes," he nodded, "They wanted to force the Time Lords to ascend and let the Vortex destroy everything, all across the universe, every life, Dalek, human, otherwise. Everyone, every child. I couldn't do it."

"So you chose to end Gallifrey instead," she spoke, trying to keep the edge out of her voice, "For the sake of the universe."

"Yes," he admitted, "At the time, in that moment, I saw _no other way_ to end the devastation and to stop the hurt spreading across the stars. It was the only way to protect all other life."

"Because going back to destroy Davros wasn't an option during the war," the Ambassador rubbed her head. It hadn't applied much to her, being a soldier on the front lines, they had no access to time travel. They had more to worry about than going back in time.

"No, and…and when I did have the chance, when it was an option, in earlier incarnations…he hadn't done anything yet," the Doctor insisted, "I had no way to know it would lead to what it did. I didn't think there was anything the Time Lords wouldn't be able to handle. By the time I realized, it was too late, there were precautions in place to prevent it."

"And if you had known?"

"He and the Daleks would be destroyed. And we'd probably be stuck in a paradox loop."

The Ambassador shook her head, taking a moment to try and process all that, "You said you stole the Moment, to use it to destroy the planet."

"Yes."

"But you…" she struggled to try and get her question out without letting her anger and horror get the best of her, "You didn't…try to save anyone else. Not a single child. No one."

The Doctor looked at her, his eyes wide with the beginnings of tears but he nodded, "No," he agreed.

"I need to know why."

He ran a hand over his face, resting it over his mouth for a second, before taking a breath, "If I could have, if I could have saved anyone, I would have. It kills me, every day, what happened, what I did. I spent decades, thinking I was the last, that I was alone, and it was my fault. I bore that, because I deserved it. After what I did, I deserved to be alone, I deserved to suffer all of it."

"Doctor," she cut in, trying to shove down the feeling of sympathy she felt at his words, "Why?"

"There wasn't time," he told her, heartbreak clear in his words, "I managed to get my hands on the Moment and alarms went off, I was being hunted by my own people. They knew what I took, they knew what I was going to do, they were coming after me to stop me. I couldn't stop. I had to get the Moment functioning. I just…I couldn't."

The Ambassador looked away, a part of her not wanting to admit that it was…understandable, it was logical. It made sense. He had stolen something, a weapon of mass destruction, every soldier they could spare would have been going after him to stop him. There was no time or way in which he could have told anyone to escape.

"I have thought about that night, every day of my life," the Doctor continued, looking down at his tea as he spoke, "I have regretted that decision every single moment, with every breath I've taken. If I could go back and change it, I would, I would do _anything_. There has to have been some way to save the planet instead of end it, but I couldn't see it then."

"And now?" she asked, clearing her throat from the tears in it, "Can you see one now?"

"No," he replied honestly, "But that is not something I will ever stop trying to work out. It's not something I will ever forgive myself for. And I've tried…not to make amends, that would be impossible, but I try to help. I try to help others so they will never have to do what I did. I want to save them, I need to make up for when I wasn't the Doctor and be the most Doctor-Doctor ever. And I won't stop, I will never stop, _nothing_ will stop me doing that."

The Ambassador looked at him for the last part, knowing he was speaking more about the bond between them. He was trying to promise her that the guilt he felt would never be overpowered by the dangers of the bond, the obsession that could form.

"You can't know that," she told him, "You know you can't."

The Doctor could only nod. It could feel like it right now, but if their bond grew, there was no way he could be certain it would remain that way. There had been too much evidence to the contrary on their planet.

"I do know that I will help as long as I can," he amended, "Sometimes…sometimes all there are are bad choices but you still have to choose. I chose the Universe, I should have chosen Gallifrey. I should have found a way to save both."

The Ambassador swallowed harder, "I don't know if I can forgive you," she spoke after another few minutes, "I don't know if that's possible."

"I understand," he murmured, looking down as though her words were also a goodbye.

"I need time, to…to look at it all with all the facts," she continued, and he looked up suddenly at her mention of time, "I think…I think I might understand. But I need time to know if I can live with knowing."

"As much time as you need," he tried to smile, "Um…I can have one of my friends here come collect you if…"

"I might have more questions," she cut in lightly, now she was the one looking down at her tea, "And the TARDIS is the only thing of Gallifrey left. It's the only home we have left."

The Doctor felt like he couldn't breathe at her words, feeling the hope nearly crushing him from within, "So…you'll stay?"

She looked up at him, "For now."

He nodded, feeling his lip starting to quirk into a smile. She had said that before, but…for the first time he felt hopeful instead of fearful.

"Alright."

~8~

The Time Lords wandered through the exhibition room of the Van Gogh display, having just rejoined with Amy a short while ago, looking around at the paintings. Even though she wasn't as familiar with Earth as the Doctor, Van Gogh was (or would be) a very well-known figure through the galaxy and so the Ambassador at least knew of him. There was a man, a tour guide of sorts, wandering about and explaining various pieces.

"Thanks for bringing me," Amy spoke, more to the Doctor than the Ambassador which was understandable.

"You're welcome," he replied.

"You're being so nice to me. Why are you being so nice to me?"

"I'm always nice to you!" the Doctor defended quickly, looking over at the Ambassador, not wanting her to think he wasn't normally nice. The small smile she gave in return caused him to let out a breath of relief and smile a bit in return.

"Not like this," Amy continued, not seeing their exchange as she was focused on the paintings around her, "These places you're taking me, Arcadia, the Trojan Gardens, now this. I think it's suspicious."

"Well, it's not," the Doctor murmured, scratching the side of his cheek, trying not to look between the two women, "There's nothing to be suspicious about."

And he really hoped there wasn't. Yes, he had been picking relatively beautiful and calm trips the last few times, and yes some of it was to do with trying to cheer up Amy after the loss of Rory…or at least that was what he tried to tell himself. But, it was quite suspicious to try and do that when Amy had absolutely no idea who Rory was or was to her. So, maybe it wasn't so much him being nice to Amy as…someone else. Maybe it was a bit of trying to give the Ambassador some time and calm to think with, to show that it wasn't just running and aliens and danger with him but peace too, beauty. Maybe it was a little trying to be nice to her.

But she'd made it quite clear she was still at odds with him, with what he'd done, so he couldn't outright say he was doing all of it for her.

Being nice to Amy was a safer excuse, he just hoped the Ambassador wouldn't see how suspicious it actually was.

"Ok, I was joking," Amy picked up on the tension in his voice and turned to him, "Why aren't you?"

Before he could ramble out some sort of excuse, a boy behind him shouted, "It's the doctor!"

He used that as he cue to turn, trying to see who had pointed him out, who had recognized him…only to see it was two boys looking at a portrait of Van Gogh's Dr. Gachet, not himself.

"He was the doctor who took care of Van Gogh when he started to go mad," the boy stated.

"I knew that," his friend muttered as they moved on.

He looked over to see the Ambassador had wandered over to 'The Church at Auvers' and was looking at a set of paintings near it, so he followed after her, Amy tagging along.

"I can't believe that's the actual one," Amy remarked, looking at the painting too, holding up her guidebook to compare it.

"Yes," the Doctor agreed with a small smile, "You can almost feel his hand painting it right in front of you. Carving the colors into shapes..."

"He does have quite some imagination to him," the Ambassador remarked, tilting her head at the painting, pointing a finger towards one of the windows where a face was visible, a creature-like face, "Is this meant to be symbolic of demons lurking in the shadows of religion?"

"No," the Doctor shook his head as he stared at it.

"Is that a face?" Amy frowned.

"Yes. And not a nice face at all. I know evil when I see it and I see it in that window."

"How do you know?" the Ambassador called when he turned to make his way over to one of the tour guides.

"I'm sorry?" he turned to face her once more.

"It's alien, I assume," she began, crossing her arms when he nodded, "Do you know what species it is?" he shook his head, starting to see that he may have crossed some sort of line with her, "Then why do you assume it's evil?"

"I…um…I…" he stuttered for an answer, before nodding, more to himself than her, though his following words were for her, "You're right. I shouldn't say that. I don't know what alien it is. It could be kind, benign. I shouldn't make assumptions."

"When you assume you make an ass of u and me," Amy recited, rolling her eyes when both Time Lords gave her an odd look, "It's a saying. Brush up on Earth lingo."

"Right…" the Ambassador shook her head at the girl, looking back at the Doctor, "If you want to investigate what alien it is, I'd like to join you," even she could tell from his reaction the alien shouldn't have been there at that time and place, and that usually meant something more was going on than should be. This could be an alien in distress that needed help and was calling out through time, "But only if you don't automatically treat the alien as the hostile species."

The Doctor nodded, wincing a bit at her words, though realizing he had truly jumped to a conclusion just based on what an alien looked like and that was not right, "I'd like that," he told her. He waited till she nodded before he headed back over to the tour guide, "Excuse me," he gently cut into the man's lecture, "If I can just interrupt for one second," he flashed the psychic paper at the man, "Sorry, everyone. Routine inspection, Ministry of Art and...Artiness. So, um..."

"Dr. Black," the man introduced.

"Yes, that's right. Do you know when that picture of the church was painted?"

"Ah, what an interesting question. Most people..."

"I'm going to have to hurry you. When was it?"

"Exactly?"

"As exactly as you can. Without a long speech, if poss. I'm in a hurry."

"Well, in that case, probably somewhere between the 1st and 3rd of June."

"What year was that?" the Ambassador asked as she and Amy joined them.

"1890. Less than a year before he killed himself."

"Thank you, sir."

"Yes, very helpful indeed," the Doctor added, "Nice bow-tie," he glanced at the Ambassador and Amy, "Bow-ties are cool."

"Yours is very..." Dr. Black offered to the Doctor as well.

"Oh, thank you. Keep telling them stuff."

"As you were," the Ambassador spoke as she and the Doctor turned to go, Amy hurrying after them, "1890 then?"

"June the 1st," he agreed.

"What, we're going to 1890?" Amy frowned, "What about the other pictures?"

"Art can wait. This is life and death. We need to talk to Vincent Van Gogh."

~8~

"June the 1st, 1890," the Ambassador remarked when they stepped out of the TARDIS to find themselves in an alley at night.

"Right, so here's the plan…" the Doctor began, and snapped his fingers to point at the Ambassador.

"You want me to make the plan?" she pointed at herself.

He offered her a smile, "I can't make them every time, we should alternate."

The Ambassador looked at him a moment for that, before shaking her head at him. She very much doubted it had to do with that. This was his way of trying to include her, to give her some sort of control, to work with her. He wanted to show her that he could abide by her wishes. She let out a breath, not sure it was going to work, he didn't seem the sort to want to not be in charge of the plans, but if this would help them find the alien and return it to its kind before events were altered, she would take it, "We find Vincent, ensure he's safe, then find the church and wait for the rogue alien to arrive so we can assist."

"Easy peasy," Amy smiled.

"Well, no," the Doctor disagreed, more with Amy than the Ambassador, "I suspect nothing will be easy with Mr. Van Gogh. Now, he'll probably be in the local café, sort of orangey light, chairs and tables outside…"

"Like this?" Amy asked she held up her guidebook from the museum to a painting that matched his description.

"That's the one."

"Or indeed like that," she lowered the book so the Doctor could see the cafe a feet away.

"Yeah, exactly like that," he smiled at the two women, leading them across a small street to the cafe, where they could see a man standing outside, tending a table, "Good evening. Does the name Vincent Van Gogh ring a bell?"

"Don't mention that man to me," the man huffed, giving them a glare before he stalked into the cafe.

"Excuse me," the Ambassador turned to a waitress who was wiping down another table, "Do you know where we might find Vincent Van Gogh?"

"Unfortunately," she muttered.

Amy seemed thrown by that response, "Unfortunately?"

"He's drunk, he's mad and he never pays his bills."

"Good painter, though, eh?" the Doctor tried.

The waitress, and a few of the other patrons who were sitting at nearby tables listening to them, began to laugh heartily.

"Well, that's just rude," the Ambassador remarked as the Doctor moved to sit by another table, the waitress just moving into the cafe as well.

"Come on!" a man's voice called from within, "Come on! One painting for one drink. That's not a bad deal," only to be nearly shoved out the door by the first man they'd seen. It was then that they realized the man in question was Vincent van Gogh himself. The Ambassador looked over at the Doctor and Amy, both of them seemed ecstatic to see the man, she was quietly pleased, but art wasn't her main area of interest.

"It wouldn't be a bad deal if the painting were any good," the first man scoffed, holding a small canvas in his hand, "I can't hang that up on my walls. It'd scare the customers half to death. It's bad enough having you in here in person, let alone looming over the customers day and night in a stupid hat. You pay money or you get out."

"I'll pay if you like," the Doctor called.

"What?"

"Well, if you like. I'll pay for the drink. Or I'll pay for the painting and you can use the money to pay for the drink."

"Exactly who are you?" Vincent eyed him oddly, seeming as thrown as Amy had been earlier that someone was actually offering to buy a painting.

"I'm...New in town."

"Well, in that case, you don't know three things. One, I pay for my own drinks, thank you," he glared at the patrons as they laughed at that, all of them aware he never paid for the drinks, "Two, no one ever buys any of my paintings or they would be laughed out of town, so if you want to _stay_ in town, I suggest you keep your cash to yourself. And three, your friends are cute, but you should keep your big nose out of other people's business."

Ambassador looked away, seeing a brief flash of something in the Doctor's eye when Vincent said she and Amy were was something she was going to have to take into consideration while she processed everything the Doctor had told her about Gallifrey. She could understand, she was sure she _could_ understand, with enough time, why he done what he had, once the wound wasn't as fresh. She could see his guilt, she could see how it killed him to do what he had. But there was something more going on than just what happened to Gallifrey, it was the bond between them that had to be taken into consideration too. That was something they would have to discuss eventually.

"Come on," Vincent turned to the man once more, "Just one more drink. I'll pay tomorrow."

"No!" the man spat, sounding almost offended Vincent would even think that could work.

"Or, on the other hand, slightly more compassionately, yes."

"Or, on the other hand, to protect my business from madmen, no."

"Or..."

"Oh, look, just shut up the pair of you!" Amy cut in, striding over, "I would like a bottle of wine, please," she told the man, "Which I will then share with whomever," she gave Vincent a pointed look, "I choose."

"That could be good," Vincent agreed readily.

"That's good by me," the man nodded as well.

"Good," Amy smirked, heading inside.

The Time Lords got up to follow, watching as the man shoved the canvas into Vincent's chest before following Amy. Vincent looked down at it, one of his self portraits of him in a hat, before sighing and moving in as well.

"We were just supposed to check that he was still alive," the Ambassador murmured to the Doctor, "Not have a drink with him."

The Doctor could only offer her an apologetic smile as they too entered the cafe.

~8~

"That accent of yours," Vincent was saying to Amy as they gathered around a table in the cafe, the humans with glasses of wine before them, the Time Lords passing, "You from Holland like me?"

Amy, who was sitting across from Vincent, beside the Ambassador, smiled, "No."

The Ambassador looked over at the Doctor who had been oddly silent, the man pouting just a little bit. She had to roll her eyes at that. When they had gone to sit down, the Doctor had tried to sit next to her, but Amy, clearly remembering the discussion she and the girl had had in the Silurian city, had managed to slide in the space instead. The Doctor had been left to sit next to Vincent as a result, he didn't seem very pleased with it. But she was grateful to Amy for her effort.

"And who are you all?" Vincent continued, "You never said..."

"I'm Amy, that's the Ambassador, and the Doctor."

"I knew it!"

"What?" Ambassador asked, when Vincent let out such a startled noise.

"My brother's always sending doctors, but you won't be able to help."

"No," the Doctor finally spoke, "Not that kind of doctor," he struggled to find a way to change the conversation away from him, knowing that it would be rude to leave right now, that Amy wasn't about to finish her drinks early. They would need to wait till the humans finished before they could continue their investigation. But the more questions Vincent asked the more suspicious he might get. So he pointed to a painting next to the man that was only partially completed, "That's incredible, don't you think?"

"Absolutely," Amy began.

"It is quite lovely," the Ambassador added.

"One of my favorites."

Vincent frowned at Amy's last words and looked at her, "One of my favorite whats? You've never seen my work before."

"Ah, yes," Amy fumbled for her wine glass, taking a sip of a drink, realizing her flub, "One of my favorite paintings that I've ever seen. Generally."

"Then you can't have seen many paintings, then. I know it's terrible. It's the best I could do," he sighed and looked back at Amy, "Your hair is orange."

"Yes. So's yours."

"Yes. It was more orange, but now is, of course, less."

The Ambassador leaned forward slightly to speak more to the Doctor, "Is this how humans talk in the 1890s?"

He cracked a small smile, he wasn't quite sure it was the 1890s that had anything to do with the rather pitiful conversation and more Vincent's obvious interest in Amy. And so he turned to the man in question, "So, Vincent, painted any churches recently?"

"Doctor!" the Ambassador huffed, rubbing her forehead. The plan was to make sure Vincent was safe, to find the church themselves, not drag him into it. The less humans of any time knew aliens existed, the better for the timelines and everyone else.

The Doctor just gave her a wink as though to say he had it covered, though she wasn't sure he really did, "Any churchy plans? Are churches, chapels, religiousy stuff like that, something you'd like to get into? You know, fairly soon?"

"Well..." Vincent looked between the two of them, confused at their reactions, "There is one church I'm thinking of painting when the weather is right."

"That is very good news," the Doctor smiled. If they could convince him to show them where the church was, maybe they could get there before he painted it and deal with the alien hiding inside it.

But his thoughts were cut off when a woman screamed from outside, "She's been murdered! Help me!"

This time it wasn't the Doctor running off into danger without thinking, it was the Ambassador reacting to the shout for help. She hopped off her stool and was out the door before the Doctor could even blink, so he rushed after her instantly. He had been exactly the same just after the war, any scream, any cry of help, and he would find himself rushing towards it with no thought. It was something that had taken him a very long time to get over, being in the middle of the war when your comrades called out for help you had to react. You couldn't hesitate. The Ambassador had come from the middle of the war, it was still instinct for her, but she could be running right into danger for all he knew. He wanted her to travel with him, to stay, partly because of the bond, partly because of the loneliness of being the last, but also...He needed to keep her safe while she healed from the war.

He caught up with her just at the end of an alley way, where they could see the body of a young woman lying on the cobblestone, a group of other humans already gathered around her.

"She's been ripped to shreds!" a man cried out.

The Doctor reached out to put a hand on the Ambassador's shoulder, giving it a squeeze to pull her out of her thoughts, for she had stopped and just stared down at the body in shock. He was trying to remind her she wasn't on the battlefields of Gallifrey once more. That was something else that happened to him, whenever he came across an injured person or a body that had been attacked, his mind immediately flashed back to the bodies of the fallen soldiers during the war. He didn't have a direct connection to the Ambassador's mind, he didn't know what she was seeing, but he could almost bet it was just that.

He glanced back at Amy, nodding at the Ambassador, silently asking her to make sure to keep an eye on the woman as he pushed his way through the crowd, "Please, let me look. I'm a doctor."

"Who is it?" another woman called out, trying to see.

"Oh, no, no, no," the Doctor breathed as he came to kneel by the body, Vincent beside him with Amy and the Ambassador behind.

"Is she dead?" a man asked.

Suddenly a woman pushed her way through the crowd, crying out to them all, "Away, all of you vultures! This is my daughter," she moved to kneel by the girl, lightly touching her face, "Giselle. What monster could have done this?" she sniffled, looking up as though just noticing the two men crowding in on her child, "Get away from her!" the Doctor and Vincent quickly stood and backed away, the Doctor with his hands in the air in surrender, "Get that madman out of here!" she reached to the side and grabbed a pebble, throwing it at Vincent, "You bring this on us. Your madness! You! He's to blame!"

All it served to do was trigger the rest of the crowd to grab stones of their own and throw it at him, all clearly blaming him for the death of the girl, and forcing the four of them to turn and run down the alley away from them.

What they paused to catch their breath, the Doctor looked over at the Ambassador, the woman standing against the alleyway wall, one hand on the brick in a fist, the other clutching at her necklace as she panted. She was looking down at the ground as though seeing something that wasn't really there.

"Are you alright?" he asked her, earning a short nod from her.

Though it appeared Vincent had not been looking in his direction and didn't realize he wasn't speaking to him when he answered, "Yes, I'm used to it," himself.

The Ambassador closed her eyes, shaking her head, forcing her thoughts away so she could focus on the current situation. What she had seen back there did not appear as though it had been made by another human being, which meant they needed to gather more information on this alien and whether it was to blame or not. She could tell it would be very easy for the Doctor or Amy to assume it was hostile or dangerous, but she had just witnessed humans throwing rocks at another person because they were scared of him. If that had been someone's first introduction to humans, they could very easily say the same about them. They needed more information.

"Have other people been hurt like that before?" she managed to get out, turning to face the others, her back resting on the alley wall.

"Only a week ago," Vincent nodded, "It's a terrible time."

"As I thought, as I thought," the Doctor mumbled to himself, and the Ambassador knew she was right, he was starting to blame the alien, "Come on, we'd better get you home," he looked at the Ambassador for that last part though, wanting to know if that was at least part of the plan, since one main focus was keeping Vincent safe.

She nodded.

"Where are you staying tonight?" Vincent turned to them, equally concerned.

"Oh, you're very kind," the Doctor patted him on the shoulder, as though Vincent had offered his home for the night instead of just asking.

The Ambassador sighed as she followed the Doctor when he turned to walk further out of the alley, "Again, we're supposed to make sure he was safe, not have a sleepover."

He just smiled, "The best way to make sure he stays safe is to stay nearby."

She just shook her head, but couldn't argue.

~8~

"Dark night," the Doctor remarked as Vincent led them through a maze of houses to get to his small cottage, "Very starry."

"It's not much," he sighed, "I live on my own. But you should be ok for one night. ONE night."

"Understood," the Ambassador told him, sending the Doctor a look for that. They shouldn't even be there for one night to begin with.

"We're going to stay with him?" Amy whispered to them.

"Once we find the alien, we're leaving," the Ambassador replied.

"Watch out," Vincent called as they reached the house, the man lighting a small lamp and setting his hat on a hook before entering, "That one's wet."

"What?" Amy called out as they followed him in, only to see the house was full of canvases, a number of paintings in various forms of completion. It was truly a sight to behold.

"Oh my stars..." the Ambassador murmured at the sight.

"Sorry about all the clutter," Vincent winced, trying to straighten up but there was not much to do with it all.

"Some clutter," the Doctor smiled, spotting some very famous pieces.

"I've come to accept the only person who's going to love my paintings is me."

"Wow," Amy called as she moved in from peeking at the paintings in a different room, "I mean, really. Wow."

"Yeah, I know it's a mess. I'll have a proper clear-out. I must, I really must. Coffee, anyone?"

"Not for me, actually," the Doctor called, the Ambassador just looking at the paintings even as she shook her head. He glanced around the side of a door, intent to follow Vincent in, when he saw the man put the coffee pot down on one of his paintings, "You know, you should be careful with these. They're... precious."

"Precious to me," the man grumbled, wiping the ring off, "Not precious to anyone else."

"They're precious to me!" Amy shouted as they all gathered in the room.

"Well, you're very kind. And kindness is most welcome."

"Right," the Ambassador shook her head, seeing a painting of a building, not the church, but enough to remind her of their purpose there, "This church you want to paint, is it near here?"

"What is it with you and the church?" Vincent remarked as he moved to get some firewood, "You lot never talk about anything else."

"Well what about you then?" Amy asked, for the moment far more interested in learning about Vincent than the church, "What do you want to talk about?"

"Oh, educated guess would say art," the Ambassador deadpanned, leaning against the door frame of the room, her arms crossed.

"Art is a wonder," Vincent agreed, "It seems to me there's so much more to the world than the average eye is allowed to see. I believe, if you look hard, there are more wonders in this universe than you could ever have dreamed of."

The Doctor smiled at that, "You don't have to tell me."

The Ambassador glanced over at the Doctor, the small smile that had grown on her face when she heard Vincent's description of art falling slightly when she saw he had been looking at her as he spoke. She could only look away, not wanting to know what context he meant that in.

~8~

The Ambassador and Amy stood in the back of Vincent's cottage, looking at some paintings that were still drying in the open air. It was difficult to really see them clearly in the night, but Amy had been too excited at seeing Vincent's artwork fresh, so the Ambassador had accompanied her to the back, curious herself.

The Time Lady moved towards one of the paintings just on the end, there was a bit more light coming through the window from where the Doctor was entertaining Vincent inside. She looked over to the side, hearing something crackle along the edge of the woods, when suddenly she was thrown back across the yard with a scream. She landed with a thump and a groan, the wind knocked out of her. It seemed like a blink of an eye when Amy appeared next to her, the Doctor dropping to his knees before her, both of them trying to ask what happened.

She flinched back when the Doctor moved to touch her face, likely wanting to check her eyes for a sign of concussion, but it was enough to jar her back, "There was something in the woods. I didn't see it..."

The Doctor looked around for whatever it might have been, but there was just them and Vincent, "It's ok. He's gone now and we're here."

"No!" Vincent suddenly shouted, backing away from them, his hands raised in fear, looking in their direction.

The Doctor quickly got to his feet, facing the man, trying to calm him, "Take it easy. Take it easy!"

"What's happening?" Amy asked, quietly, more to the Ambassador than the Doctor, not wanting to be too loud and alarm Vincent for clearly he was having a fit of some sort, "What's he doing?"

Vincent didn't seem to hear anyone as he grabbed a large wooden fork and held it before him as though he were holding a sword, gripping it tightly as he rushed towards them. The Doctor jumped back, avoiding Vincent in his run, though the man didn't seem to be focused on attacking him so much as something behind them, for he put himself in between them and an open space, stopping and waving fork around as though to ward something off.

"Run!" Vincent called, "Run!"

"Yeah, yeah, yeah," the Doctor nodded, hurrying back over to Amy and the Ambassador, helping them up and urging them back towards the cottage, "That's not a bad idea. Get back. He's having some kind of fit. I'll try to calm him down," once they were closer to the cottage he turned and made his way over to Vincent, moving in front of the man to try and get his attention, "Easy, Vincent, easy. Look, look. It's me, it's me, it's me. It's the Doctor, look. No one else is here. So, Vincent..."

"Look out!" Vincent shouted his warning, a moment before the Doctor was thrown to the side as something invisible roared and hit into him. The Ambassador gasped as she pulled Amy back, seeing claw marks appear in one of the canvases as whatever creature it was clawed at it.

"I can't see anything!" Amy shrieked, "What is it?"

"Whatever it is, I'm betting it's our alien," the Ambassador murmured, frowning and squinting, trying to make out anything she could that might help identify which species it was.

The Doctor pushed himself to his feet, noticing that Vincent seemed able to see the creature, and grabbed a stick, running to join him, "Let me help you."

"You can see him, too?" Vincent called.

"Yes," the Doctor said, though he ran in the completely wrong direction than where Vincent was looking, "Ish. Well, no. Not really."

He'd only barely gotten the words out when the creature roared again, and he found himself being thrown back over a table.

"You couldn't see him?" Vincent looked down to where the Doctor had fallen at his feet.

"No," he groaned, "Oi!" before getting back on his feet once more and swinging the stick around, trying to help.

The Ambassador opened her mouth to call out a warning to him, to urge him to just back away and allow Vincent to focus since he could clearly see the creature. But just as she did, Vincent appeared to have injured it, for there was a whine of pain as it turned and fled from the yard, knocking over plants and hitting into trees as it went. She glanced at Amy, the two of them stepping out from the back of the cottage to join Vincent as he stared down the trail the creature had made. They looked back over at the Doctor who was still swinging the stick, not even noticing the creature had been dealt with for now.

"He's gone, Doctor," the Ambassador called out to him.

He spun around to look at them, "Oh, right. Yes, of course," and tossed the stick to the side.

The Ambassador shook her head, this was the _last_ thing she wanted to do, but if the creature couldn't be seen by them, they would need the help of someone who could, "Vincent, it looks as though we'll need your help."

~8~

"What we have is an invisible creature," the Ambassador began as she paced in Vincent's cottage, Amy sitting on a chair, the Doctor and Vincent standing.

"It was no creature," Vincent argued, "It was a monster!"

"Which only you can see," she turned to him, "Can you draw it for us? It may help us identify it and determine how best to proceed."

"How best to proceed?" Amy scoffed, "That thing attacked you! It's probably what attacked all those other people. We need to stop it."

"I agree it should be stopped," the Ambassador began, looking over at the Doctor more for this than Amy. They could both tell the timelines were in danger of being changed, a creature like this was not meant to be there in this time or place, "Whether it should be stopped or killed is something else to be decided depending on the species it's from. And if we do need to contain it as opposed to destroy it, we need to know how. We need to know its strength, its weaknesses, and how best to lay a trap."

"Which we can't do if we don't know what species it is," the Doctor realized. He was a little more of the belief that, for the creature to be attacking the way it was, it would be something too dangerous to allow humans near, and perhaps even too dangerous to set a mere trap for. But this was the Ambassador's plan, he would go along with it as long as he could.

"I can show you," Vincent agreed, moving to grab one of his paintings of irises and started to cover it with white paint, much to the shock of the Doctor and Amy who called out for him to stop, "What?"

"It's just..." the Doctor sighed, "That was quite a good...On you go."

Vincent grabbed a piece of charcoal, sketching over the canvas as best he could, trying to replicate the creature he had seen. In the end it looked like a cross between a bird and a reptile, birdlike in structure but with scales and a beak, "Anything?" he asked when he showed it to the trio.

The Ambassador could only shake her head, she didn't recognize it, neither did the Doctor it appeared.

"Right," the Time Lord sighed, taking the sketch, "Amy, Sadie, make Mr. Van Gogh comfortable. Don't let any invisible monsters in through the front door."

"It's the Ambassador," she muttered under her breath at the same time Amy exclaimed, "But it could be outside, waiting!"

"Don't worry, I'll risk it. What's the worst that can happen?"

"You could get torn into pieces by a monster you can't see," Amy stated.

"Oh, right, yes. That."

"What do you even need to go out there for?" the Ambassador asked.

"I might have something back in the TARDIS that could help identify what this is. I can get there faster if I go just on my own. Don't worry. I'll be back before you can say, 'where's he got to now?'" he gave them a wink and headed out of the room, only to pop his head in a moment later, "Not that fast!" he shouted, making Amy jump, "But pretty fast."

"Just go," the Ambassador huffed, waving him off.

He pointed at her, "See you around," and popped out again.

~8~

The Ambassador frowned as she looked down at the papers the Doctor had printed from the odd device that had identified the creature they were looking at. She and Amy had stayed with Vincent, though the man had fallen asleep soon after the Doctor left. Amy hadn't been able to stand the sound of the snoring coming from the man and had gone to look at the paintings outside once more. As it turned out, she wandered off to go find the Doctor, which SHE hadn't known till Amy and the Doctor came back together. Amy had tried to make up for it by making them all breakfast.

She wasn't very hungry though, the more she read about the alien, the more complicated the situation became.

"I thought I'd brighten things up to thank you for saving us last night," Amy spoke, pulling the Ambassador's attention from the papers and up to where Vincent was awake by a small balcony, looking down at them, more so looking at the sunflowers Amy had scattered everywhere, "I thought you might like, you know, possibly to perhaps paint them or something? Might be a thought."

The Ambassador shot the Doctor a look for that when he rejoined them from waking Vincent, he could only give her an apologetic look, knowing Amy had gotten that from his comments earlier.

"Yes…" Vincent examined one, "They're not my favorite flower."

"YOU don't like sunflowers?"

"No, it's not that I don't like them. I find them complex. Always somewhere between living and dying. Half-human as they turn to the sun. A little disgusting. But, you know, they are a challenge."

"And one I'm pretty sure you will rise to," the Doctor encouraged.

"Perhaps at another time though," the Ambassador cut in, getting up with the papers in hand, "There's something more pressing for us to discuss," she gestured for Vincent to join them down in his sitting room, offering him the paper to see an image of the creature that had been printed.

"That's him," Vincent sat down on a sofa, shocked, "And the eyes. Without mercy."

"This is a Krafayis," the Ambassador explained to him and Amy, "A pack animal, a scavenger. If they get separated from the pack, the rest leave them behind."

"Because they are a brutal race," the Doctor added.

"Or because they find survival in numbers," the Ambassador argued, "And can't help one that's injured or too weak to keep up."

"They're hunters too," he countered, "They kill, until they're killed."

"That IS usually what happens with all hunting animals. Hunters will hunt, until another animal hunts them."

"Though the Krafayis normally isn't. Because other creatures can't see them."

"But I can," Vincent cut in, frowning as he looked between the two, not sure why the Ambassador seemed to be defending the monster.

"Yes," the Doctor turned to him, "And that's why we are in a unique position today, my friend, to end this reign of terror. So, feeling like painting the church today?"

"He doesn't need to be there for the Krafayis to appear," the Ambassador argued.

"He's the only one who can see it."

"And you're going to just let a human face it again?"

"If I can help keep the people safe from this monster, I will," Vincent cut in once more, though his voice seemed a little weaker than it had been moments ago, "I'll get my things."

"In your own time," the Doctor spoke before the Ambassador could, "I promise you, we'll be out of your hair by this time tomorrow," he offered the man a smile as Vincent paused in the doorway to look at them, to look at Amy, before he left.

"We shouldn't involve him," the Ambassador argued, "It's too risky."

"Riskier than normal?" Amy asked.

"Well," the Doctor moved to the doorway to check Vincent had left, before he turned back to them, "Think about it. This is the middle of Vincent Van Gogh's greatest year of painting. If we're not careful, the result of our trip could be the brutal murder of the greatest artist who ever lived. Half the pictures on the wall of the Musee D'Orsay will disappear," he sighed, moving to sit on the sofa to rub his face, "And it will be our fault."

A/N: Firstly, I'm so sorry this wasn't up earlier. For some reason I legitimately thought it was Saturday and not Friday so I posted my Spock/Cora chapter and then, about four hours later was like 'omg it's Friday! Sadie!' and sort of scrambled to edit and post this lol. But at least I got it up on the right day ;)

For this chapter, yay, we finally got that talk! :) There are still quite a few more still to come for the Doctor and the Ambassador though ;) I think, now that she's heard his piece, it's going to take time for her to come to terms with it, but also she's going to need to be around the Doctor to know what sort of man he is. Is he lying? Is he trying to make himself out to be a tragic hero? Or is he really feeling guilty? Is he genuinely a good man? Does he deserve forgiveness? We'll have to wait and see what she thinks ;)

Some notes on reviews...

All very good points for the Doctor's mindset when it comes to Silurians :) The Ambassador would probably say that he can't base what happened with a future version of the Silurians on those awakening in the present, they aren't the same people and even if they were, they hadn't done the event that caused him to dislike the Silurians. Events aren't the same, some may be changing that might alter that future event too. Each event should be treated like it's own isolated incident as much as it can be. She'd be a bit hypocritical because she would certainly have wanted the 'present' Doctor to have killed Davros when he first met him due to what happens in the future, but that's also, I suppose, why she is an ambassador to other planets, it's easier to be unbiased when it's not your planet personally being affected :/

It's definitely tricky trying to balance the Ambassador's hurt and loss with the reminder that the Doctor has lost it too :( I agree, it's just too raw for her to see past her own hurt at the moment, but I have a few little moments planned throughout the series where a one-off line will bring up how she's treated him at first and they'll talk and forgive each other for it ;) Right now, she's fixated on what she's lost, once she's had time to process it, she may start to realize it's worse for the Doctor despite him having more time to cope, because he was the one who had to cause it all :(

I agree, it was something that brought the Ambassador to life in my mind. Eventually, after writing and watching the episodes so many times, you just sort of start to realize just HOW many times 'aliens are bad, humans are good' pops up and how not black/white it is. The more I started to see it, the more the Ambassador's character was just demanding to be there to try and point it out :( Even here, it's not 'hostile alien' it's literally an animal that's in a place it shouldn't be in the first place. It's not like it intentionally came to earth to hurt people, it shouldn't be put down for that, but removed and returned to its people or to an environment where it and others are safe :(


	12. Vincent and the Time Lords (Part Two)

Vincent and the Time Lords (Part Two)

The Ambassador frowned when she and Amy moved up a set of stairs along the outside of Vincent's cottage to see the Doctor standing against the railing, looking out at the distance, somber. She could hear a faint sound of someone sobbing within the closed doors behind the Doctor, clearly Vincent. The Doctor had gone up to check on the man when he hadn't come back down, something must have gone wrong.

"Doctor?" she called out, not sure if he had even heard them approaching.

"What's happening?" Amy frowned.

"We're leaving," the Doctor turned to them, "Everyone knows he's a delicate man. Just months from now he'll...he'll take his own life."

"Don't say that," Amy called after him as he moved to go down the stairs, "Please."

The Ambassador sighed and followed the Doctor down to the main rooms where he was looking at Vincent's paintings, thoughtful.

"I did tell you we shouldn't have stayed," she remarked, moving to stand near him, though there was a good foot of space between them, "Make sure he was alive, find the church ourselves. And now, we're finding the church ourselves and we've upset Van Gogh."

"Yes, yes," he muttered, rubbing his forehead, "I know. It's just…it's Vincent Van Gogh."

"And he takes his own life," the Ambassador reminds him, "A Krafayis doesn't kill him," she let out a breath of her own, "I've been thinking, there may be a way around needing Vincent to come with us. If we can find a way to make the alien visible to us, Vincent can stay safe. So long as he paints the church tomorrow, at the latest, there will be no lasting affects to the timeline. You said you had a device that identified the Krafayis? So it was visible to it?"

"Yes, I suppose that could do it," he remarked, "It would be easier if we had someone that could truly see it…"

"I doubt either of us would allow Vincent near the Krafayis till we can get it subdued."

"True," he agreed, the argument to have Vincent with them was null because of that very fact. He nodded, "I suppose we have to do this on our own. Go to the church at the right time and hope the monster still turns up."

"I'm ready," a voice spoke behind them and they turned to see Vincent was standing in the doorway, his hat and coat on, supplies in hand, "Let's go."

~8~

Amy was walking beside Vincent, her arm tucked into his as she carried a paint case and canvas under one arm. Vincent had his easel and paint palette in his other hand. Behind them the two Time Lords were walking, the Ambassador with her arms crossed over her chest, the Doctor with a small case in his hand containing the device that should allow him to see the Krafayis.

The Ambassador was quite surprised to see Vincent up and about the way he was, considering the noise she had heard within his bedroom only a few short minutes before she and the Doctor had spoken. But it was a true testament to the struggles he had within him, that his moods switched as quickly as they did.

"I'm sorry you're so sad," Amy spoke after a few minutes of quiet walking.

"But I'm not," the man smiled, "Sometimes these moods torture me for weeks, for months. But I'm good now. If Amy Pond can soldier on, if our dear Ambassador can keep going, then so can Vincent Van Gogh."

"Thank you, Vincent," the Ambassador spoke, when he looked over his shoulder at her with an empathetic smile on his face. Even though she and the Doctor had not said anything about the Time War or what they lost, Vincent still had noticed, at least with her. She supposed it made some sense, she had just come from the middle of the war while the Doctor had had at least a century to process what happened.

"I'm not soldiering on," Amy frowned though, "I'm fine."

"Oh, Amy, I hear the song of your sadness," Vincent told her, "You've lost someone I think. You all have."

The Time Lords looked at each other for that, if only Vincent knew just how many people they had lost.

"I'm not sad," Amy insisted.

"They why are you crying?" Vincent asked gently. Amy reached up to touch her cheek, looking at her hand when she saw a tear remnant on it, startled that she had been crying and not noticed, "It's alright. I understand."

"I'm not sure I do."

The Doctor's expression grew sorrowful for Amy, because he knew that the tear was for Rory, even though Amy herself didn't remember losing him, "Ok, ok! So, now, we must have a plan. When the creature returns..."

"Then we shall fight him again," Vincent stated as he turned to face to Time Lords.

"Well," the Ambassador began, "We will fight to defend ourselves, should we be attacked first. But engaging in a hostile act against a creature that's not evolved enough to consciously understand what they're doing..."

"We'll try to catch him first," the Doctor cut in slightly, seeing that she was confusing Vincent.

He understood where she was coming from, having thought through her reaction to the Krafayis data earlier. The Krafayis was on the same level as an animal, with a very simple understanding of the world, and was something that operated on instinct. It wasn't like the Racnoss, who possessed conscious thought and chose to eat what they did, who were ravenous and would eat anything in front of them without stopping. He could understand the Ambassador's logic here, the Krafayis was out of its natural environment and away from its pack, they couldn't fault the creature for lashing out any more than they could a cat that extended its claws when backed into a corner.

"Last night we were lucky," the Doctor reminded him, "Amy and Sadie could have been killed."

"The Ambassador," she muttered.

"Amy and the Ambassador could have been killed. So this time, for a start, we have to make sure I can see him, too."

"And how are we meant to do that, suddenly?" Amy asked.

"The answer's in this box," he tapped his case, "I had an excellent, if smelly, godmother..." he trailed off when he caught sight of something over their shoulder, causing them to turn and look to see a funeral procession approaching, sunflowers resting on the coffin.

"Oh, no," Vincent murmured, "It's that poor girl from the village."

They fell quiet, standing respectfully off to the side to clear the road, as the procession passed. The mother of the young girl who had thrown rocks at Vincent glared at him, but said nothing.

"You do have a plan, don't you?" Amy looked at the Doctor.

"No," he started to walk again, leading the way, "It's a thing. It's like a plan, but with more greatness."

"You do realize we need to have an actual plan, yes?" the Ambassador asked him as she moved to keep pace with him.

"What, you don't trust my thing?"

She was sure he meant it to be a joke, but what slipped out of her was anything but, "Was using the Moment a thing or a plan?"

The Doctor swallowed hard and looked away.

"I'm sorry," she told him, "That was cruel of me to say. I just don't feel very comfortable going into this without some sort of plan on how to subdue the Krafayis."

"Understandable," the Doctor gave her a small smile.

"We are going to subdue it, right?"

"Yes," he nodded, "I agree, if it attacks we'll fight back. It deserves to be with its pack."

"I wonder why they left him," she murmured.

The Doctor looked over, about answer her question with a number of suggestions, when he noticed she was fiddling with the bottom of her necklace. Her last question was more in thought than meant to be said aloud. He could imagine where her mind is gone at it. Wondering why her husband had left, why he'd had to die in the war. It was a question he had asked himself.

He recognized the pendant on the end of her necklace, it was of Gallifrey. It was similar to a locket a human might wear, except when it was opened the image inside would be more of a typical Gallifreyan artwork, appearing almost 3D in effect. He could imagine that the image inside was of her family or her husband, perhaps even both.

He didn't know how to answer her question, so he didn't say anything more.

~8~

The moment they reached the church, Vincent got right to work setting up his easel and preparing to start painting.

"And you'll be sure to tell us if you see any, you know, monsters?" the Doctor checked in, eyeing the windows of the church.

"Yes," Vincent sighed, "While I may be mad, I'm not stupid."

"No one here said you were," the Ambassador pointed out.

"And, to be honest..." the Doctor moved over to squat next to Vincent as he mixed his paints, "Not sure about mad either. It seems to me depression is a very complex...ow, ow, ow!" the Doctor winced as he was hefted to his feet by the Ambassador pinching his ear with her gloved fingers and pulling him away like a mother chastising their child.

Vincent didn't even seem to notice though, now fixated on the church, "Shh. I'm working."

"Well, yes, paint, do painting!" the Doctor called, managing to pull away from the Ambassador and frown at her, "What was that for?"

"He's a delicate enough man as it is," she hissed a whisper at him, "You can't go explaining depression to him! It hasn't even come to be called that yet, if I remember right. You tell him he has the melancholy and he may do something drastic earlier than he should."

The Doctor pointed at her like he was going to argue, before he lowered his finger, nodding. She was right. At this point in time, at this point in medicine, melancholy was an unchangeable affliction that, in some areas, could lead to people being shunned or locked away. It was just, he was the Doctor, it was his duty to care, and he wanted to help Vincent, but there was almost no way he could. Trying to explain depression to a man in this day and age would be like telling them there really was no hope.

Oh he knew there was. He had met people who suffered from depression, the bravest and strongest people he had ever met to deal with such an affliction and keep fighting, keep going. The time period for Vincent just made it feel impossible and he hated that.

"Right, right," he murmured, "I'll be more careful."

The Ambassador gave him a nod and stepped back over to Vincent to watch him paint, the Doctor joining her a moment later.

~8~

"I remember watching Michelangelo painting the Sistine Chapel," the Doctor remarked a short while later, when Vincent had gotten the outline of the church roof and some of the sky done, "Wow! What a whinger. I said to him, 'If you're scared of heights, you shouldn't have taken the job!'"

"Shh!" Amy hissed.

~8~

"And Picasso," the Doctor still hadn't let up regaling them about other artists he'd met, even while Vincent worked more on the sky though a bit more of the church had been done, "What a ghastly old goat. I kept telling him, 'Concentrate, Pablo, it's one eye, either side of the face.'"

"Quiet," Amy hushed.

~8~

By nightfall, Vincent was still painting with a good deal of the image done, and the Doctor finally appeared to have run out of artist to talk about for he was now squatting on the ground, picking at the grass, bored out of his mind.

"Is this how time normally passes?" the Doctor called over to them, "Really slowly. In the right order."

"Well, when one isn't dependent on a TARDIS," the Ambassador murmured as he stood, "One gets used to time being proper."

He sighed, "If there's one thing I can't stand, it's an unpunctual alien attack."

Amy glanced between the Ambassador, who was now observing the church, and the Doctor who was looking back at the path they'd come down, and headed over to him, "Are you ok? You seem a bit, if I didn't know better, I'd say nervous."

"There's something not right and I can't quite put my finger on it," he stated.

"There's quite a lot about this that's not right," the Ambassador called over to him, "And I can put my finger on almost all of it."

Before the Doctor could respond, Vincent gasped, "There!" and pointed at the window as the Doctor and Amy rushed back over, "He's at the window."

"Where?" the Doctor asked.

"Well, the painting we saw, it was the right most window," the Ambassador recalled.

"Exactly, yes, on the right," Vincent agreed.

"As I thought," the Doctor nodded, turning to grab his case, "Ambassador, with me. We're going in."

"Well, I'm coming, too."

"No," the Ambassador held up a hand to stop him, "No humans, just us. You're far too fragile."

"Fragile?" Amy scoffed, offended, "Have you ever been to Scotland."

"Have you ever been in the middle of a war with an unbeatable enemy and come out alive?" she countered, "We've both faced Daleks, we can handle a Krafayis."

"But you're not armed!" Vincent argued just as Amy opened her mouth to argue that she had, in fact, faced Daleks too.

"We are," the Doctor countered.

"What with?"

"Him?" the Ambassador nodded at him, "Overconfidence, a suitcase, and a small screwdriver. Me, a brain."

"Oi!" the Doctor pouted, though he couldn't really argue with her first points.

"When you actually have a plan, I'll reconsider if you have a brain," she told him.

"Fair enough," he agreed, "But look, it's not just a screwdriver, it's a _sonic_ one. Just have to find the right crosactic setting, and stun him with it. Sonic never fails. Anyway, Amy, only one thought, one simple instruction: don't follow us under any circumstances," he gestured to Vincent to keep an eye on her.

"I won't," Amy huffed.

The Doctor gave her a thumbs-up and the two Time Lords headed for the church. They paused in the foyer, the Doctor setting down the case to pull out an odd device with a sort of reflective surface that he strapped on his chest and held in one other hand.

"Please tell me you have actually thought of a plan while gobbing on about art before?" the Ambassador asked, "One that doesn't involve killing the Krafayis."

"Exactly as I said," he told her, tossing her the sonic, "We stun it. Then we get the TARDIS and land around it, bring it back home, and Bob's your uncle."

"My uncle's name was not Bob."

"It's a…nevermind," he shook his head, "I'll use this to spot the beast," he tapped the device in his hand, "And lure it off. You use the sonic to stun it. Planny enough for you?"

"Not in the slightest," she sighed, "But it's the best we've got."

She got the feeling she was going to have to work on her problem solving skills in a non-negotiation sense if she kept travelling with the Doctor. It was all well and good to help work through a situation in a room, talking about it, and leaving it to others to put into motion once you'd left. It was another thing to be right in the middle of the situation, engaging in it, and having to think of a solution off the top of your head.

With a smile and a wink, though, the Doctor entered the church, the Ambassador following him, as they slowly and cautiously crept through the darkened room. There was a low growling ahead and the Doctor kept checking the mirror in his hand for the Krafayis, but it wasn't near the window any longer.

"Damn," he muttered, "He's moved."

He had just lowered the device in his hand to turn to the Ambassador, ready to amend the plan, when he suddenly went flying through the air and across the room.

"Doctor!" the Ambassador shouted, realizing the Krafayis had struck and rushing to his side to try and help him up, the sonic brandished in her other hand in case the Krafayis made a run at them…but it didn't.

"Doctor!" another voice called as Amy raced into the room.

"Amy, you were supposed to stay outside!" the Ambassador huffed.

"We'll talk about it later," the Doctor cut in, hearing the Krafayis growling again, "Quick, in here," he turned and ducked into a confessional, ending up on one side while Amy and the Ambassador ended up in the other. And it was just as well, he supposed, the Ambassador was far more covered up than he was, less chance of an accidental brush with Amy's skin in that case.

"Please tell me you at least made sure Vincent stayed away," the Ambassador whisper to the human.

"Shh," the Doctor gently shushed them, "Absolutely quiet," he fell silent as he listened for the Krafayis, which seemed to be pacing outside the confessionals, "Can you breath a little quieter, please?"

"No!" Amy huffed quietly, listening and letting out a relieved breath when she didn't hear the Krafayis anymore, "He's gone past…" she began to say, starting to open the curtain that led to the confessional.

"Stop!" the Ambassador reached out to grip Amy's wrist, halting her, as she felt a breath on the back of her neck, the Krafayis was on the other side of the confessional box, breathing through a small grating behind her. Amy seemed to feel the breath too, which caused her to let out a squeak of a scream at the sensation.

"I think he heard us," the Doctor warned only moments before there was a smashing noise behind him as the Krafayis seemed to attack his side now, "That is impressive hearing he's got."

"Hunters of any species tend to have sharp senses!" the Ambassador called, when another section of the confessional was ripped out, the part in the middle.

"True!" the Doctor agreed, "What's less impressive are our chances of survival."

"Hey, are you looking for me, sonny?!" Vincent's voice suddenly cut through the noise the Krafayis was making.

"Oh, do not tell me…" the Ambassador huffed, pulling open the curtain somewhat to see Vincent was brandishing a chair like a lion tamer, "Vincent, get out of here!"

But the man ignored her, continuing to call out to the Krafayis, "Come on. Over here. Because I'm right here waiting for you!" he swung the chair around before him, a growling noise just ahead, and he gestured quickly to the others, "Come on. Quickly! Get behind me."

They hurried over, the Ambassador flicking the sonic on and aimed at the Krafayis, "Has it done anything?" she asked as the man began to slowly back away.

"No," Vincent answered, and she began to fiddle with the settings.

"Where is he?" the Doctor called.

"Where do you think he is, you idiot?" Vincent wiggled the chair more for emphasis that the Krafayis was right in front of the chair, "Use your head."

"How about now?" the Ambassador tried the sonic again.

"Nothing. In fact, he seemed to rather enjoy it."

"I give up, you do it," the Ambassador tossed the sonic to the Doctor, not fully familiar with the tech in the first place.

"Duck!" Vincent called to the Doctor as they were forced to move apart, and so he did, "Left!" the Doctor moved to the left only to get swatted away and into a wall, "Right, sorry. Your right, my left."

They hurried over to the fallen Time Lord, Vincent moving to defend in front of him while the Ambassador and Amy helped him back up.

"This is no good at all," the Doctor muttered, "Run like crazy and regroup!"

"I told you we needed an actual plan," the Ambassador huffed.

"In here!" Amy found another door, the four of them rushing through it and trying to shut the door behind them, but it got stuck at just a crack open. Until Vincent stomped on the ground, causing the Krafayis to squeal and them to shut the door suddenly.

"Right," the Doctor panted as they fell back against the door to hold it shut, "Ok. Here's the plan. Sadie, Amy, Rory…"

"Who?" Amy frowned.

"Sorry, um, Vincent."

"What's the plan this time?" the Ambassador swallowed a deep breath of air, closing her eyes and trying not to feel trapped. Which was rather hard to do given they WERE trapped.

"I don't know, actually. But in future, I'm just using this screwdriver for screwing in screws."

Vincent, however, seemed to have thought of one, "Give me a second. I'll be back," he warned before he rushed off.

"Vincent!" the Ambassador shouted after him, but the man was long gone, "We need to keep the Krafayis distracted, it can't go after Vincent."

"I suppose we could try talking to him?" the Doctor offered.

"Talking to him?!" Amy scoffed.

"Well, yes. It'll serve as a distraction and, who knows, we might be able to work something out with it. Might be interesting to know his side of the story…" he hesitated when the Krafayis growled through the door.

"I don't think he's in a talkative mood right now," the Ambassador deadpanned, "Let me through, I'll run about the room and keep it from…"

"No," the Doctor shook his head, "No," he winced when the beast slammed against the door, "Let's…let's try the talking first and then we'll think of something else. But no one else is using themselves as bait, agreed?" he didn't even wait for an answer as he turned around to face the door, still pressed against it as he called out to the Krafayis, "Listen. Listen! I know you can understand me. Even though I know you won't understand why you can understand me. I also know that no one's talked to you for a pretty long stretch, but please...listen. The Ambassador and I, we also don't belong on this planet. We, also, are alone. If you trust me, I'm sure we can come to some kind of, you know, understanding. And then…and then, who knows?"

"I don't like how it's gone silent," the Ambassador whispered after a moment or two of absolute quiet.

And it appeared she was right to worry, for not a moment later, the window behind them shattered with nothing to be seen, the Krafayis had entered the room. It roared, shoving the few items in the room everywhere as it moved around.

"Over here, mate!" Vincent shouted, hurrying into the room from a doorway, his easel in hand.

The Doctor urged the Ambassador and Amy on, towards Vincent, the trio gathering behind him, "What's it up to now?"

"It's moving round the room," Vincent warned, guiding them back towards a sarcophagus to hide behind for more cover, "Feeling its way around."

"What?" the Ambassador frowned.

"It's like it's trapped. It's moving round the edges of the room."

"I can't see a thing," Amy tried to squint in the same direction as Vincent was looking.

"If it's trapped, why doesn't it just leave?" the Ambassador peered over the edge of the sarcophagus, "The window is blown and the doors are open…"

"I am really stupid," the Doctor realized something.

"Oh, get a grip!" Amy rolled her eyes, "This is not a moment to re-evaluate your self-esteem."

"No, I am really stupid and I'm growing old. Why does it attack, but never eat its victims?" he asked them, "And why was it abandoned by its pack and left here to die? Why is it feeling its way helplessly around the walls of the room?"

"Oh my stars," the Ambassador breathed, realizing what he had, "The poor thing's blind."

It explained so much now. Why it was abandoned by the pack. Why it attacked the way it did. Why it hadn't left yet. It wasn't attacking to be vicious, it was scared and helpless and ran into the wrong places.

"That explains why it has such perfect hearing!" the Doctor exclaimed.

"Which, unfortunately, also explains why it is now turning around and heading straight for us!" Vincent warned, rushing around the edge of the sarcophagus, the ends of his easel held up before him like a weapon.

"Vincent, don't attack it," the Ambassador warned, "We need to subdue it."

But Vincent wasn't backing down, which concerned the Doctor into calling out, "Vincent. Vincent, what's happening?"

"It's charging now!" Vincent shouted, motioning for them to stay back. He began to jerk the easel at the Krafayis, calling out "Get back. Get back!" but the beast couldn't see it, and ran right at Vincent, impaling itself on the end of the easel.

It bellowed out in pain, twisting and turning so much that Vincent was pulled off the ground as he tried to hold onto the easel, until he let go and scrambled back. They watched in horror as the easel fell to the side, a thumping noise sounding, the Krafayis had collapsed. The easel was just suspended in midair, rising and falling in short, staggered breaths of the alien.

"He wasn't without mercy at all," Vincent swallowed hard, staring at the alien, "He was without sight. I didn't mean that to happen. I only meant to wound it, I never meant to..."

The Doctor slowly approached the air, the Ambassador unable to go near it at the pained whimpers it was making, "He's trying to say something," he realized.

"What is it?"

"I'm having trouble making it out, but I think he's saying, 'I'm afraid. I'm afraid.'"

The Ambassador looked away, taking a shuddering breath, not wanting to cry in front of the humans, but feeling an empathy for the Krafayis. How many times had she thought and felt that during the war? How many times had she said those words to her husband when the planet knew war was about to loom over them? How many other had she heard say the same thing, while dying?

"There, there," the Doctor tried to comfort it, reaching out to rest a hand on it, "It's ok. You'll be fine. Shh…" he closed his eyes tightly when the Krafayis breathed its last.

"He was frightened," Vincent murmured, "And he lashed out. Like humans, who lash out when they're frightened. Like the villagers who scream at me. Like the children who throw stones at me."

"Sometimes winning…" the Doctor shook his head, "Winning is no fun at all."

~8~

The Ambassador nearly fell back against the ground as she, the Doctor, Amy, and Vincent came to rest in a field near the church. It had been surprisingly difficult to take care of the fallen Krafayis. Getting the TARDIS to set down around it, bringing it back to its native planet, and then getting it out of the TARDIS had been an event. She was exhausted and felt terrible for the loss of the alien. Being blind and afraid only made the situation involving it all the worse.

She shifted when she caught sight of something out of the corner of her eye, Vincent reaching for Amy's hand, as she was lying nearest him, with the Doctor on his other side. The Doctor pretended not to see the man moving to take his hand as well, moving his hands behind his head as though relaxing. She maneuvered herself to cross her arms, though Amy hadn't moved to reach out and take her hand.

"Try to see what I see," Vincent began, "We are so lucky we are still alive to see this beautiful world. Look at the sky. It's not dark and black and without character. The black is in fact deep blue," he began to point at the stars with his free hand, "And over there, lighter blue. And blowing through the blueness and the blackness, the wind swirling through the air and then, shining, burning, bursting through…the stars! Can you see how they roar their light? Everywhere we look, the complex magic of nature blazes before our eyes."

The Ambassador start to smile a bit, the way he described it, it was easy to picture how his view of the world led to his famed Starry Night painting.

"I've seen many things, my friend," the Doctor murmured, "But you're right. Nothing quite as wonderful as the things you see."

Vincent sighed, playing with Amy's fingers, "I will miss you terribly."

~8~

The next morning the Ambassador wouldn't lie and say she wasn't anxious to leave. She hadn't wanted to stay yet another night with Vincent, not that it wasn't an experience to be around the famous painter. It was just that every moment they spent there was another moment where things could go wrong. It had already been proven in the small fit Vincent had suffered earlier, as the Doctor had said, one wrong move and Vincent could be gone and it would be their fault. They had stayed the rest of the night at Vincent's, and lingered even into the morning.

"I only wish I had something of real value to give you," Vincent was saying as he offered them one of his self-portraits to keep.

"Oh, no, no," the Doctor shook his head, giddy to be offered one, but knowing it belonged in a museum one day, "We could never accept such an extraordinary gift."

"Very well," Vincent sighed, sounding both hurt and expectant, "You are not the first to decline the offer," he turned to Amy and held out his arms to her, "Amy, the blessed, the wonderful."

"Be good to yourself," she whispered to him as she hugged him tightly, pressing a kiss to his cheek as well, "And be kind to yourself."

"I'll try my best."

"And maybe give the beard a little trim before you next kiss someone," she added with a laugh, rubbing her cheek.

"I will. I will. And if you tire of this Doctor of yours, return, And we will have children by the dozen!" he laughed when she let out a teasing squeak, "The Ambassador," he turned to her, hugging her though taking care to avoid coming too close to her cheek, whether due to what Amy had said or something else, she didn't know, "Thank you for a new perspective."

"Any time," she smiled at him as he pulled away to look at the Doctor.

"Doctor, my friend," he clasped the Doctor on the shoulder, "We have fought monsters together and we have won. On my own, I fear I may not do as well."

The Doctor took a breath and steeled himself, before carefully leaning in to hug Vincent, being sure to avoid skin contact. He pulled away, offering the man a sad smile, before he turned to lead Amy and the Ambassador out.

They had only made it a few feet away from the cottage, when the Doctor spoke, "Are you thinking what I'm thinking?"

"Finally?" the Ambassador offered.

"No."

"That we may need some food before we leave?" Amy tried her hand.

"Well, no, you're not thinking exactly what I'm thinking," he turned around to face the cottage and called out, "Vincent!" waiting till the man, shirtless and with a brush in hand, stuck his head out the window, "Got something I'd like to show you. Maybe just tidy yourself up a bit first."

"Doctor," the Ambassador nearly groaned, "We shouldn't. This could end badly."

"Or goodly," he countered, turning to face her when she crossed her arms, "He deserves some comfort in the times to come."

"And if this just makes it all worse?"

"It won't," he promised, "It won't."

"You can't promise something like that."

"I know," he admitted, "But I live in hope."

He gave her a wink before heading back to the cottage to wait for Vincent.

~8~

"I still don't think this is a good idea," the Ambassador murmured to the Doctor as they led the way through the streets towards the TARDIS.

"I know," he remarked, "But it's the only idea I've got. We can't do much for him, but we can at least show him that his work will be cherished by others."

She let out a long breath, "The sentiment, I agree with. The execution…" she looked at him, "Just be very careful how you do this."

"I will," he promised, crossing his hearts, before turning to walk backwards, speaking to Amy and Vincent as they followed, "Now, you know we've had quite a few chats about the possibility there might be more to life than normal people imagine?"

"Yes…" Vincent began slowly.

The Doctor grinned and turned, only to pout when he saw the TARDIS had been covered in bills and other papers. He shook his head and moved over to it, using his key to slice through the crack between the doors, "Well, brace yourself, Vinny," he told the man, opening the doors and moving to the side to let Vincent see inside. Of course, he did the same thing so many others had done, moving around the outside to examine it before entering.

"Why IS it always a police telephone box?" the Ambassador had to ask the Doctor quietly.

"Chameleon Circuit was broken," he murmured, hurrying after Vincent.

"How come I'm the crazy one and you three have stayed sane?" Vincent called.

"Amy, yes, me, I hope," the Ambassador answered, "The Doctor, I believe the vote is still out on whether he's sane or not."

"Ha ha," the Doctor called out, moving to the console.

"What do these things all do?" Vincent eyed the various buttons.

"Oh, a huge variety of things! This one here," he turned a knob, "For instance, plays soothing music," he started to dance in place as music drifted over the speakers, "While this one makes a huge amount of noise," he pulled a lever, causing a grinding noise to sound, "And this one makes everything go tonto!" he flipped another one and the room shook.

"And this one?" he pointed to one.

"That's a friction contrafibulator!" the Ambassador answered over the noise.

"And this?"

"That's ketchup," the Doctor called even as the Ambassador opened her mouth to answer more truthfully, "And that one's mustard."

"Mmm, nice," Vincent laughed, "Come on. Back to the cafe and you can tell me about all the wonders of the universe."

"We can't," the Ambassador warned him, "We're already in the dematerialization process," she added, moving to hit another button to finally send them off.

"There's a little something I'd like to show you first," the Doctor called to him. A few minutes later the TARDIS landed with a thump, and he led the way to the door.

"Where are we?" Vincent asked as he looked around at the time and place that was clearly not his own.

"Paris," the Ambassador sighed, "2010 AD."

"And this is the mighty Musee D'Orsay," the Doctor gestured at the building across a small courtyard, "Home to many of the greatest paintings in history."

"Oh, that's wonderful," Vincent smiled, but then his attention was drawn over to two boys walking past with some handheld electronics.

"Ignore that. I've got something more important to show you," he led the way into the museum, the three of them needing to work together to keep the man on track and not distracted by the various other pieces of art around him. It wasn't until they entered the Van Gogh museum that they let him linger, let him take in the fact that the paintings he'd only ever kept in his home were on display in a museum of famous art and being admired openly by everyone in the room. The Doctor smiled at the sight of Vincent's shock, noticing Dr. Black only a few feet away and hurried over to the man, gesturing at Amy and the Ambassador to keep Vincent close, "Dr. Black, we met a few days ago. I asked you about the church at Auvers."

"Oh, yes," the man recognized him, "Glad to be of help. You were nice about my tie."

"Yes. And today is another cracker if I may say so. But I just wondered, between you and me, in 100 words, where do you think Van Gogh rates in the history of art?"

"Well, big question," Black began, thinking about the question with all seriousness, "But, to me, Van Gogh is the finest painter of them all. Certainly, the most popular, great painter of all time, the most beloved. His command of color, the most magnificent. He transformed the pain of his tormented life into ecstatic beauty. Pain is easy to portray, but to use your passion and pain to portray the ecstasy and joy and magnificence of our world - no-one had ever done it before. Perhaps no-one ever will again. To my mind, that strange, wild man who roamed the fields of Provence was not only the world's greatest artist, but also one of the greatest men who ever lived."

"Impressive," the Ambassador murmured to Amy, "Less than 100 words."

The Doctor looked over for her words, but noticed Vincent, who had been listening to how the man described his work, appeared to be near tears. He quickly made his way back over, "Vincent. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. Is it too much?" he reached out to place a hand on his shoulder.

"No," Vincent sniffled, "They are tears of joy," he stepped past the Doctor and over to Black, giving him a Gallic kiss, "Thank you, sir, thank you," as well as a hug.

"You're welcome," the man awkwardly returned the hug, not sure why it was happening though, "You're welcome."

"Sorry about the beard," Vincent murmured, stepping back and over to the others.

"Come on," the Ambassador gave him a small smile, "We need to head back."

The Doctor nodded, knowing this was stretching it just to have Vincent overhear what he had. He patted Vincent on the back, turning to guide the man back out of the room.

~8~

The Ambassador leaned in the doorway of the TARDIS, the Doctor just a step outside it after it touched down in an olive grove, resting back against the other corner of the box, watching as Vincent looked around with a wide grin, Amy having followed him out.

"This changes everything!" the man cheered, "I'll step out tomorrow with my easel on my back a different man. I still can't believe that one of the haystacks was in the museum. How embarrassing."

"It was rather cute," the Ambassador offered, which made the man laugh.

"It's been a great adventure and a great honor," the Doctor gave him a nod of respect.

"You've turned out to be the first doctor ever actually to make a difference to my life."

"I'm delighted," he said, though his smile was bittersweet, to know he'd made a difference, but not helped, "I won't ever forget you."

The Ambassador moved to the side to allow him into the TARDIS, though she remained in the doorway to wait for Amy, not sure if the human would unintentionally (or perhaps intentionally) blurt out something to Vincent she shouldn't.

"And you are sure marriage is out of the question?" Vincent turned to Amy.

"This time," she replied as she hugged him, "I'm not really the marrying kind," she kissed his cheek again and hurried back into the TARDIS.

The Ambassador gave Vincent another nod, the man blowing a kiss to her as she shut the door and turned to join the Doctor at the console.

"Come on," Amy was already begging the man, "Let's go back to the gallery right now. Please, can we?"

The Doctor looked over at the Ambassador, who could only shrug, leaving it to him. But he knew, Amy wouldn't let up about this. So he began to put in the coordinates, the Ambassador assisting him with the landing back at the Musee d'Orsay. The moment they touched down though, Amy was out the doors. They followed after her at a more sedate pace than her near-skipping.

"Time can be re-written," she called to them, rushing into the building, "I know it can. Come on!" and up the stairs that led to the exhibit, "Oh, the long life of Vincent Van Gogh. There'll be hundreds of new paintings."

"I'm not sure there will," the Doctor tried to warn her, but Amy was far too convinced.

"Come on!" she rushed right into the exhibit and slowed to a crushed halt when she saw the same paintings as before.

"We have here the last work of Vincent Van Gogh," Dr. Black was giving another tour, "Who committed suicide at only 37. He is now acknowledged to be one of the foremost artists of all time. If you follow me now..."

"So, you were right," Amy turned to the two Time Lords, shattered, "No new paintings. We didn't make a difference at all."

"Sometimes making a difference doesn't mean making things better," the Ambassador told her. Her mind both drifting to what the Doctor had done on Gallifrey, certainly made a difference in her life, but not a good one. But also to her own experiences trying to mediate for a planet or two, how she made a difference in helping them settle disputes, but it didn't always improve the situation.

"Every life is a pile of good things and bad things," the Doctor remarked, giving Amy a sad smile, "The good things don't always soften the bad things. But, vice versa, the bad things don't necessarily spoil the good things or make them unimportant."

"I think you being there gave him a few more good to add to the pile," the Ambassador offered, admitting that much about their involvement.

"And, if you look carefully..." the Doctor nodded to the side, leading them over to the painting of the Church, this time without the Krafayis in the window, "Maybe we did indeed make a couple of little changes."

"No Krafayis," Amy noted.

"No Krafayis."

As the two Time Lords observed the painting as it was meant to be painted, Amy wandered over to another painting, the one of sunflowers. They joined her a moment later when she hadn't moved away, to see 'For Amy' had been painted just above Vincent's signature.

"If we had got married," Amy murmured, "Our kids would have had very, very red hair."

"The ultimate ginger."

"The ultimate ginge," she smiled, "Brighter than sunflowers."

The Ambassador glanced over at Amy, before stepping away and moving back over to the painting of the church, not even looking over when the Doctor joined her a moment later.

"You care," she began after another minute of silence, "You DO care."

"I always care," the Doctor remarked, "I have a duty to care."

"I really don't think I can ever forgive you, what you did to Gallifrey," she continued, "But I need to find a way to be ok being around you while I work out and process everything. You care, you genuinely care."

She had seen it in how he comforted the Krafayis, in how genuinely pained and grieved he sounded as he spoke to it. He cared about others, not just Amy and Humans, though it seemed to take some doing for him to open up to other aliens. But he had proven he could care.

For a brief moment she didn't know if it made it better or worse. Would it have been easier for her to be around him if he was as cruel and callous as the Master was said to be? If he had been able to do what he had to Gallifrey without guilt? If he was just a terrible person, it would be easier to walk away from him, which she knew she should. The bond they had was too dangerous to tempt. But she hadn't been lying, she had lost everything and the TARDIS was the only piece of home left.

Why couldn't he have just been a cruel monster?

Why did he have to care?

But he did, and that was at least something to work with. He had done something terrible, but he wasn't a terrible person.

It would just take some time to actually believe that.

A/N: Sadie is slowly getting there. A lot of the start of her relationship with the Doctor is going to be trying to work out what sort of man he is beyond the stories she's heard and the assumptions she's made given the events of the war. She may never actually forgive him for 'destroying' Gallifrey, but she's going to need to find a way to coexist with him given she sort of needs the TARDIS and that piece of home to cope with the loss of everything else :( Here she's sort of realized he can and does actually care about aliens, so that's one assumption she's going to be working past.

But it does make her struggle harder. She knows she should leave, and in any other situation she would, but she's going to need time to heal and cope. And then she sees the Doctor be kind (after the revelation about the war has settled somewhat) and it's hard. It would be easier if he was a monster, to leave. But he tries so hard to be a good person :(

I have to say, I'm sort of looking forward to the Lodger :)

And just a tiny note, for anyone reading who may be in the sort of NY area and might be planning to go to the Renaissance Faire, I'll probably be walking around there on the 1st of September with my 'Keep calm and put the kettle on' t-shirt so if you see me, feel free to say hi! ;D

Some notes on reviews...

That is definitely a question lingering in Sadie's mind, and we'll see her ask it at one point. I think, for her, when she was talking to the Doctor earlier, she was trying to keep away from the very personal ties to the war, her husband and the Doctor's family. If she brought up his ties in the war, it would remind her of her own, and she'd have a harder time listening to him. That and I feel like somewhere in her mind she honestly doesn't believe the Doctor would do that to Gallifrey if his own family was still there on the planet. So subconsciously she's sort of assuming his family was gone already, but it will come up again ;) And I'm glad you like that aspect of her involvement. I feel like she can really be unbiased in a way the Doctor can't, he's been around and involved with humans too much to not feel protective of them. To her, humans are aliens too and she can look at both sides as being on the same level :)

That's going to be something Sadie will slowly realize as the story goes on. It would be easy to see him as a monster, but he's actually a GOOD person, and for him to make the choice he did, she'll start to see how it haunts him and guides his actions through his life :)

To be technical, it is an actual line in the show where the Doctor calls the Krafayis evil just from a glimpse in a painting, and he makes it clear he's never seen what a Krafayis looks like before the device he had was able to identify it so he couldn't have known it was a dangerous species. He made an assumption just based on appearance which ultimately did end up being very wrong by the end of he episode ;) He does that a few more times, like with the Crooked Man in Hide, the Siren in Curse of the Black Spot, just off the top of my head. It might seem more like the Doctor is of the 'alien equals evil' mentality because Sadie points out when he's making that assumption, which no one really does in the show, so it just comes across more. It's understandable, of course, given all he's seen, that he would suspect the alien first. He does have experience over Sadie in terms of alien vs. human and the outcome, but she also has experience over him in waiting it out and being patient, not making assumptions. He does tend to have more of a preference for humans than any other alien so, to her, he does come across as thinking the Krafayis is more evil than misunderstood ;) It's going to be something she slowly starts to realize isn't as black and white. Subconsciously, too, I think when she finds out about the war it just hammers in that he MUST hate aliens if he could do that to his own people, a people humans see as alien. She's slowly going to start to see his better points and times where he chooses the alien over the humans, she's largely basing her reactions on what she's seeing, heard, and assumed about him, which she'll begin to overcome ;) She wasn't there to see him struggle over the Star Whale or other times he agonized over wanting to help the alien. She'll learn though, she'll learn to trust his instincts just as much as he'll learn to really get all the facts first ;)

I'm glad you're enjoying Sadie and the story :D


	13. The Lodgers (Part One)

A/N: So, just giving a head's up, this is going to be an Ambassador-lite episode with a little twist for the Doctor ;) More about it in the end A/N.

~8~

The Lodgers (Part One)

"Doctor, if you're going to open the doors, make sure the TARDIS is actually parked," the Ambassador called, hurrying to the console where the Doctor had abandoned his position to run for the doors, eager to show Amy their destination. She rolled her eyes when Amy hurried after him, both excited, too much so to make sure the TARDIS wasn't going to wander off.

The wide smile the Doctor had been wearing when he threw open the doors fell when he saw what looked like modern Earth beyond, "No, Amy," he sighed when she came beside him, "It's definitely not the fifth moon of Sinda Callista. I think I can see a Ryman's."

"What's a Ryman's?" the Ambassador called, about to make her way over to the doorway herself when the TARDIS suddenly began to shake and a blast of air hit the Doctor and Amy, sending them flying out onto the ground.

"What?!" the Doctor rolled onto his back to see the Ambassador rushing to the doors.

"Doctor," she called, moments before the doors shut, sealing her inside the box as it began to dematerialize.

"What?!" he jumped to his feet and ran to the doors but it was too late.

~8~

The Ambassador gasped as she was thrown to the floor, the box out of control, sparks shooting out of the console. She pushed herself up and ran to the controls, trying to get the monitor working, but there was just static. She moved over to another monitor in the console, frowning at the readings.

"We're still on Earth?" she shook her head, it felt like they were in the Vortex, "Essex, Colchester, wherever that is…" she moved over to a lever and pulled it down, the TARDIS starting to still and calm. She hurried over to the door and opened it, only to see they were in space, "What?" she shook her head, she couldn't even see the Earth.

But before she could try to work it out more, the box began to shake again.

"Why are you taking off again?" she huffed, moving back to the console to try and control the mad box.

~8~

The Doctor just stared at the place the TARDIS had disappeared, Amy coming up beside him with a frown, "It wasn't supposed to do that, was it?" she asked.

He could only shake his head as he stared at the grass…

~8~

"I don't understand why we're going here," Amy muttered as she and the Doctor walked up to the front door of a set of houses, "Shouldn't we be working on finding a way to get back to the TARDIS."

"Because of this, Pond," the Doctor tapped a small card and put it in his pocket. They had walked past a shop window and seen an advert for a flatmate, with a card above it in the Ambassador's handwriting telling them to go there, listing an address. As it was clear the Ambassador hadn't written it yet, he hoped it was a sign for where they needed to go to get back to her.

They'd stopped off to sonic up a bit of cash from a machine and had finally gotten to the house. He was hoping he would get in and something about the place would help lead him back to the TARDIS or to what might have caused it to disappear the way it was. There had been an earphone attached to the card they'd found, taped to the back of it, and he'd managed to contact the Ambassador with it, she was alright, but unable to get the TARDIS to land. Every time she did, it jolted and went back into the Vortex.

Not liking being separated from the TARDIS and the Ambassador, the Doctor quickly reached out and rang the doorbell, giving Amy a smile and a "Geronimo," for the effort.

It wasn't even a moment later that the door was thrown open and a plump man with a bit of stubble on his chin appeared, a set of keys in his hand, shouting out, "I love you!"

"What?" Amy shook her head, completely thrown.

"Well, that's good," the Doctor smiled, glancing between Amy and the man before them, "Cos we're your new lodgers. Do you know," he reached out to pluck the keys out of the man's hand, "This is going to be easier than I expected!"

Amy groaned, "Did you have to say that, Doctor?" she knew she hadn't traveled with him long compared to others, she was sure. But even she knew that for him to say something like that just meant it wouldn't end up being easy at all.

"But I only just put the advert up today," the man seemed utterly befuddled, "I didn't put my address."

"Well, aren't you lucky we came along?" the Doctor continued, "More lucky than you know," he glanced up at the second floor, not even needing the sonic to feel the temporal energy above them, "Less of a young professional, more of an ancient amateur, but frankly I'm an absolute dream. And Amy here isn't too shabby either."

"Amy Pond," Amy held out a hand to shake the man's, "And this is the Doctor."

"Craig," the man muttered, shaking her hand, still confused. But he reached out a hand to stop the Doctor entering the house, "Hang on, mate, I don't know if I want you lot staying, and give me back those keys," he snatched them back, "You can't have those!"

"Especially when you haven't paid for them," Amy nudged him in the side with her elbow, pointedly.

"Yes," the Doctor looked at her, nodding, and back to Craig, "Quite right. Have some rent!" he quickly shoved a small paper bag that held the soniced up money to Craig who looked at the bag full of notes and stared at them, "That's probably quite a lot, isn't it? Looks like a lot. Is it a lot? I can never tell."

Amy rolled her eyes, "I told you it was a lot. Repeatedly."

"Did you?" the Doctor glanced at her, "I don't remember that."

"You were talking to the Ambassador."

"Oh, right, yes," he recalled, nodding at that.

Amy shook her head, "May we?" she asked Craig, nodding at the house.

Craig, who still seemed quite stunned, just stepped aside and let them in, shutting the door after him just as the lights flickered above them.

"Yes, Sadie wasn't sure if that was enough for rent either," the Doctor added, turning to Craig, "Don't spend it all on sweets. Unless you like sweets. I like sweets. Ooh. I wonder if Sadie likes sweets," he turned to Amy, "We should get her some for when we see her again. Do you think she'd like that?"

Amy scoffed, "Are you seriously asking if you should buy a girl a box of chocolates? How romantic of you Doctor."

"No, no, not romantic just…a nice gesture. A thank you and an apology," he corrected. While he was more open to exploring the connection he had with the Ambassador, she was not. And he knew that the woman's husband had died, recently for her, and that would just be in poor taste. The connection between them was one thing, but actively romancing her was another.

"So, Craig," Amy turned to him, "Who lives upstairs?"

"Amy!" the Doctor hissed at her.

"What?" she shrugged, shooting him a look. She knew he was aiming for subtlety, for whatever reason, but to her the sooner they got this dealt with the sooner they could be off and back in the TARDIS. He thought it was something to do with the upstairs tenant, so why not ask about it?

"Just some bloke," Craig shrugged.

"What does he look like?" the Doctor asked.

"Normal. He's very quiet…" just after he said that, there was a banging noise above them, "Usually. Sorry, who are you again?" he looked to the two of them, but the Doctor had already stepped further into the flat with Amy, "Hello?! Excuse me?"

The Doctor didn't move any further than the sitting room, where he was staring at a corner of the ceiling where there was a stain spreading across it. Amy was more focused on the little knickknacks and other odd bits scattered around the room.

"I suppose that's...dry rot?" the Doctor asked, nodding at the stain.

"Or damp," Craig shrugged, "Or mildew."

"See what you bring me," Amy reached out to lightly smack the Doctor in the arm, "Black mold. I'd take Prisoner Zero over some wonky stain."

"Or it could be none of the above," the Doctor reminded her.

"I'll get someone to fix it," Craig told them.

"No!" the Doctor said quickly, "I'll fix it. I'm good at fixing rot. Call me the Rotmeister."

Amy snorted at that, "The Ambassador and the Rotmeister, catchy."

He winced, hearing it now, "No, I'm the Doctor, don't call me the Rotmeister. Don't tell Sadie I said to call me the Rotmeister."

Amy shook her head and tapped her ear subtly, reminding him that she'd already heard him.

He quickly spun on his heel, "This is the most beautiful parlor I have ever seen," he tried to change the topic, "You're obviously a man of impeccable taste."

"Hardly," Amy scoffed, moving to lean on a countertop that the Doctor hopped on to sit on, "I know blokes and this is not something a bloke would put together," she smiled at Craig, "Got yourself a girlfriend, have you?"

"What?" Craig sputtered, "What girl…there's no…why would you…" he shook his head, "I don't have a girlfriend."

"Lady friend then," Amy shrugged, not put off at all.

"As fine as the decoration here is," the Doctor cut in lightly, "My regards to your not-girlfriend, a more important question needs to be answered," he looked at Craig, "We can stay, Craig, can't we? Say we can."

"You haven't even seen the room," Craig pointed out.

"The room?"

"Right, yeah, yeah," Amy blinked as though just realizing something, "Our room," she looked to the Doctor pointedly, but he just gave her a confused look, "The room we'll be sharing, while we stay here. The thing we've given him rent money for…"

"Oh, right, yes," he nodded, "Our room, our room. Take us to our room!"

"Yeah…" Craig gave them an odd look, but turned to lead them down the hall to the room, "This is Mark's old room, he owns the place, moved out about a month ago. An uncle he'd never even heard of died and left a load of money."

The Doctor stepped over to the bed of the rather plain room, testing it by briefly jumping on it.

"Did he now?" Amy murmured, "How convenient," she sent the Doctor another pointed look, guessing that it was another future event they would have to go back and fix up, "Isn't it? Doctor?" but he kept jumping, "Doctor!"

"Yes, yes," he hopped off the bed, "This'll do just right. In fact..." he glanced up when another noise sounded above them, "No time to lose. We'll take it. Ah...you'll want to see our credentials…" he pulled the psychic paper out of his pocket and showed it to Craig, "There...National Insurance numbers..." he moved the paper behind his back to show Craig again, "NHS numbers..." and once more, "References..."

"Is that a reference from the Archbishop of Canterbury?" Craig squinted, catching that one reference.

"I'm his special favorite," he put a finger to his lips, "Are you hungry? I'm hungry."

"I could go for a bite," Amy shrugged, not even perturbed by how the Doctor kept jumping topic. He always seemed to get flustered when he was worried about something, and right now it wasn't just the TARDIS but the Ambassador in danger as well.

"I haven't got anything in," Craig told them even as the Doctor made his way to the kitchen and started to rummage through the fridge and cabinets.

"You've got everything I need for an omelette fines herbes! Pour tres!" the Doctor quickly gathered the ingredients and moved to start cooking it.

"Hold on, YOU can cook?" Amy asked, moving to lean on the counter just next to the stove, "Since when?"

"Amy, I'm…very old," he reminded her, "I've known how to cook for a while. The TARDIS may love me, but she doesn't make my food for me."

"Huh, I have to see this," she remarked, stationing herself to actually watch him make the food, though she continued to speak to Craig as well, "Is that your lady friend on the fridge?" she asked, nodding her head over to a picture hanging there.

"That's my friend. Sophie," Craig explained.

"A friend who is a lady," Amy teased.

"There's nothing going on!" he insisted.

"Ah, that's completely normal," the Doctor nodded along, "I too have a friend who is a lady, with whom there's nothing going on. It works for me."

Amy snorted, "You and Sadie do NOT have nothing going on," she remarked, "You both definitely have something that should not be happening going on."

The Doctor looked over at her with a deep frown on his face, realizing she was talking about the connection he shared with the Ambassador.

Amy gave him another pointed look that said she knew exactly what was going on, before she took a leaf out of his book and changed the topic, "So Craig, how did you and Sophie meet?"

"At work," he answered, "About a year ago at the call center."

"Oh, really, a communications exchange?" the Doctor murmured, distractedly as he focused back on the eggs, "That could be handy."

"Firm's going down though. The bosses are using a totally rubbish business model. I know what they should do, I got a plan all worked out, but I'm just a phone drone, I can't go running in saying I know best. Why am I telling you this? I don't even know you."

"I've got one of those faces," the Doctor shrugged, "People never stop blurting out their plans while I'm around."

Amy rolled her eyes, "You pester it out of them or act like you're smarter than them and already know their plans."

"They blurt out their plans eventually though," the Doctor winked at her.

"Right," Craig shook his head, "Where's your stuff?"

"Don't worry, it'll _materialize_ , if all goes to plan."

"That was a rubbish joke," Amy deadpanned.

~8~

"Oh come on," the Ambassador huffed as she tried to get the TARDIS to land once more, in the park it had set down in before it kicked the Doctor and Amy out. But the box was fighting her at every turn, refusing to fully materialize, "Why won't you land?" she nearly slapped her hand on the console.

The TARDIS made an angry, grinding noise of displeasure.

Whether it was from the slap or being trapped with her as the pilot, the Ambassador didn't know, nor did she really care. She was quite cross about everything right now.

~8~

"Ok, Doctor, you surprised me," Amy said, with a mouthful of eggs still being chewed, it was actually delicious. She was going to have to make him cook more often in the TARDIS kitchen if he could cook like that.

"That was incredible!" even Craig agreed, "That was absolutely brilliant. Where did you learn to cook?"

"Paris, in the 18th century," he said.

Amy let out an exaggerated cough and shot him a warning look.

"No, hang on, that's not recent, is it?" he realized, "17th?" he looked at Amy who shook her head, "No, no, no, 20th?" Amy gave him another incredulous look, "What?" he asked, it was believable!

"You look about nine," she reminded him. There was no way someone who looked as young as the Doctor, who looked around the same age as her, would have learned how to make something like that in the 20th century. He'd have been about 10 in that century, to a human at least.

"Right, yes, 21st century," he nodded, whispering to Amy, "Sorry, I'm not used to doing them in the right order."

"No," she deadpanned, "Because our adventure with Vincent wasn't an eye opener about that."

"Has anyone ever told you two that you're a bit weird?" Craig asked.

"Oi!" Amy huffed, crossing her arms, she was NOT weird! If anyone was weird it was the Doctor, not her.

The Doctor, however, just shrugged, "They never really stop. Ever been to Paris, Craig?"

Craig wasn't even thrown by the change in topic, to happy and content from the delicious eggs as he reclined on his sofa, "Nah, I can't see the point of Paris. I'm not much of a traveler."

"I can tell from your sofa."

"My sofa?"

"Yeah, what?" Amy shook her head, completely confused.

"You're starting to look like it," the Doctor told the man, earning an eye roll from Amy.

"Thanks, mate," Craig laughed, "That's lovely! No, I like it here," he absently began to play with the set of keys he hadn't let go of, "I'd miss it, I'd miss..."

"Those keys?"

"What?"

"You haven't stopped fiddling with them," Amy pointed out, nodding at the ring in his hand.

"Fiddling?" the Doctor teased, "He's sort of fondling them, isn't he?"

"I'm holding them," Craig insisted, before setting them down on the arm of the sofa.

Amy reached out and patted his arm, "Sure you are."

"Anyway..." Craig cleared his throat before getting up and moving over to a table by a door, fishing a set of keys out of a small bowl, "These...these are your keys."

"We can stay?" the Doctor practically hopped up and moved over to the table too.

"Yeah, you're both weird but you can cook," Craig shrugged, "It's good enough for me," he started to hold up each key to explain them, "Right, outdoor, front door, your door."

"My door. My place. My gaff."

"My keys," Amy cut in, snatching the keys from Craig before he could give it to the Doctor, "I'll hold onto these," she smirked at him when he pouted.

"And listen," Craig added, glancing between them, though he blushed a bit as he did so, "Mark and I, we had an arrangement where if you ever need me out of your hair, just give me a shout, ok?" he winked.

Amy immediately grimaced at the thought, which was odd because she could distinctly remember having been very keen on that idea only a short while ago. She could remember trying to lure the Doctor into her bed and being very much in a huff when he refused. Yet now it was like the very idea of doing that just made her uncomfortable.

The Doctor, in all his wisdom, merely winked back and asked, "Why would we want that?"

"In case you two want some alone time," Craig added, "You're together, aren't you?"

"Yes," the Doctor said, at the same time that Amy shouted, "No!"

The Doctor frowned, "But we ARE together."

"Not in that way, Doctor," Amy sighed.

"Not in what way?"

"Together-together," Amy elaborated, but the Doctor still looked lost, "We're not dating, you're not my boyfriend."

"He's not?" Craig looked between them.

"No, no, definitely not, never ever," the Doctor finally got it.

"He's my brother," Amy added quickly, feeling more comfortable calling him that than a fiancé, but also needing an explanation for why they'd be ok sharing a room.

"Yes, siblings," the Doctor gestured between them, "Can't you see the resemblance? By the way, that...the rot," the Doctor didn't give him a chance to answer, "I've got the strangest feeling we shouldn't touch it," he glanced at Amy and nodded his head to the hall, where she followed him to the room and flopped down on the bed, tired after the events of the day.

The Doctor moved to the window and looked out at the sky before he tapped his earpiece, "Earth to the Ambassador, Earth to the Ambassador. Come in."

"Oh so now you call me the Ambassador?" her voice huffed in his ear.

"Well, Craig seemed thrown by calling me the Doctor," he shrugged, knowing she had heard everything he had, she just hadn't been able to respond back, "Thought Sadie would be a bit more human."

"Do humans not have ambassadors?"

"They do, they…"

"Oi, you two," Amy called, "Put her on speaker please. It's really weird to hear one side of a conversation."

"Right, yes," the Doctor tapped the piece once more.

"Can you hear me now, Amy?" the Ambassador spoke.

"Perfectly, thank you," Amy answered.

"How are you?" the Doctor asked her, "How's the TARDIS coping?"

"As well as can be, I suppose," the Ambassador answered, "Neither of us are very happy, mind you. I can't tell if the TARDIS sparks whenever I try to touch the controls due to whatever has her freaking out in the first place or because she doesn't like me."

"Why wouldn't she like you?"

"She can't talk Doctor, I've no idea, but she's not pleased about something, listen," she quieted down so he could hear the grinding and angry noises the TARDIS was making.

"Ooh, nasty," he winced, "She's locked in a materialization loop, trying to land again."

"But she can't," she finished for him, "Because of whatever's stopping her upstairs in that flat."

"I still don't understand why we don't just go up there and sort it out," Amy huffed.

"Because," the Doctor looked over at her pointedly, as he'd already gone over it with her, "We don't know what it is yet."

"I'm honestly surprised you're being so cautious, Doctor," the Ambassador mentioned.

"Of course I am, why wouldn't I be?" he asked.

"Given what I've seen of you, I thought you'd have gone up there and demanded they leave Earth. I'm glad you're willing to get all the facts first before any confrontation."

The Doctor hesitated to speak, he hadn't exactly been cautious for that reason. He knew, if the Ambassador was here, she'd want to talk to the man upstairs and see why he was there, if he had crashed or was stuck, understand what he was doing and why, and try to find a way to help, within reason. He was being cautious more because of the sheer magnitude of danger that could be present just above his head. But, in a sense, it was true, he WAS trying to gather more information before doing anything, and so he merely offered, "Anything that can stop the TARDIS from landing is big, scary big!"

"Wait..." Amy sat up on the bed, "Are you scared?"

"If I do this wrong, I could lose the last two things I have left of my home, Amy," he looked at her, "Frankly, I'm terrified. I can't go up there until I know what it is and how to deal with it. So, until then, it's vital that this 'man' upstairs doesn't realize who and what I am."

"So that's no sonicing," Amy remarked.

"And no advanced technology," the Ambassador added.

"Wait, then shouldn't we get rid of the ear piece?"

"No, no, this is safe," the Doctor tapped the piece, "It's set on scramble. To anyone else hearing this conversation, we're talking absolute gibberish."

"So basically you talking normally," Amy teased.

The Doctor pointed at her like he was about to argue, but put his finger down and just continued to speak, "All I've got to do is pass as an ordinary human being. Simple. What could possibly go wrong?"

"Everything," the Ambassador said dryly, at the same time that Amy scoffed and muttered, "Have you seen you?"

"So you're both just going to be snide?" the Doctor huffed, "No helpful hints?"

"Don't ask me," the Ambassador replied, "I don't know enough about humans to be of much help. Ask Amy."

He turned to her as Amy got off the bed, moving her hand to her chin as she circled him, "Hmm, well, here's one...bow tie, get rid!"

"Bow ties are cool!" he defended, stepping away from her and straightening his bowtie, "Come on, Amy, I'm a normal bloke, tell me what normal blokes do."

She shrugged, "They watch telly, they play football, they go down the pub."

"I could do those things!" he insisted, "I don't, but I could!"

"Doctor…" the Ambassador called, her voice tense, moments before there was a crashing noise above them.

"Ambassador?" he shouted, hearing her scream for a moment, hearing the TARDIS shaking.

"Doctor, look!" Amy pointed to the few clocks in the room as they began to spin back and forth.

He quickly checked his own watch to see it doing the same, "Interesting. Localized time loop."

"It's calming for now," the Ambassador told him, "You're sure it's a localized loop?"

"What's that?" Amy frowned.

"Time distortion," he answered, "Whatever's happening upstairs, is still affecting the TARDIS and the Ambassador."

"Alright," the Ambassador told him after another grinding noise, "It's stopped, I've managed to stabilize the TARDIS for now. Has it calmed on your end?"

"My end's good."

"So…" Amy looked between the Doctor and the clocks, "Doesn't sound great, but nothing to worry about?"

"Not so much for you," the Ambassador grumbled, "For me, I could get thrown into the Vortex and lost forever."

"That can happen?" Amy gaped.

"No, no, she'll be fine," the Doctor reassured, "She just has to keep the zigzag plotter on full, that'll protect her."

"That's not what it's called, and you know it," the Ambassador huffed at him, "But yes, I do know what to do to keep a TARDIS stable in a time loop. I _have_ , actually, read the manual and passed my exams. Just…find out what's going on there."

"Righty-o," the Doctor agreed, tapping the ear piece off of speaker.

"And Doctor," the Ambassador spoke just to him, "…be careful."

He smiled at that, nodding to himself, "Now," he looked at Amy, "We must not use the sonic. Come along, Pond, we've got work to do, need to pick up a few items."

"Great," Amy huffed, but followed him out of the door.

~8~

"Shh!" Amy hissed when the Doctor bumped into something. They were trying to move a shopping trolley up the stairs to Craig's house. It shouldn't have been that difficult but given it was the middle of the night and the trolley was filled with odds and ends, it was harder.

The Doctor looked over when a cat meowed nearby and pointed a warning finger at it, "Don't get comfortable!" he warned it.

He began to pat his pockets for the house keys, when Amy rolled her eyes and stepped forward to unlock the door for him, the keys being in HER pockets since hers were the ones that weren't bigger on the inside. She turned and gestured through the door, making him grin and try to get the trolley inside.

Amy winced when he nearly toppled over with it.

~8~

The Doctor looked over when there was a knock on the bathroom door as he was taking a shower that morning. Apparently Amy did not make the best assistant for building things and he'd ended up with some sort of goo all over him. He honestly wasn't even sure what it was or how it had come to be, he was sure he hadn't made any sort of goop. But he'd gotten covered in it and now he had only just managed to get it out of his hair. Amy had blamed it on a lack of caffeine, telling him she needed a coffee or something if she was going to keep helping him, especially after he tore apart the bed.

"Doctor!" Craig called out.

"Hello?" he shouted back.

"How long are you going to be in there?"

"Oh, sorry, I like a good soak!" he listened for a response but only heard Craig muttering something, "What did you say?" there was something about someone being ok, but he couldn't make it out, "Sorry?" he peeked around the curtain, "What did you say? Craig?" he tried to grab a towel as he got out of the shower, but slipped to the floor, getting soap in his eyes in the process, "No choice...it's sonicing time," he reached out blindly, realizing Craig was going to approach the 'man' upstairs, and grabbed something out of a cup on the sink, rushing out of the bathroom with a towel wrapped around his waist.

"Doctor?" he heard Amy speak behind him, just as the towel slipped off, "What…oh my god!"

The Doctor flushed, quickly pulling the towel back up and glancing at Amy, who was covering her eyes now, and ran to the hall just as Craig was coming down, aiming the device in his hand up the stairs, "What happened, what's going on?"

"Is that my toothbrush?" Craig frowned at the object in the Doctor's hand, which was indeed an electric toothbrush.

"Correct," the Doctor turned it off.

"Doctor, what's going on?" Amy approached them, slowly pulling her hand from her eyes now that it appeared to be safe.

"You spoke to the man upstairs?" the Doctor asked Craig, ignoring Amy for the moment.

"Yeah," Craig shrugged.

"Really?" Amy caught on, "What'd he look like?"

"More normal than he does at the moment," Craig nodded at the Doctor before addressing him, "What are you doing?"

"I thought you might be in trouble," the Doctor said.

"Thanks. Well if I ever am, you can come and save me with my toothbrush."

The Doctor nodded, waiting till Craig had left to answer a phone to turn to Amy, "You were supposed to be watching him!" he hissed at her.

"Well sorry I was eating my breakfast," she huffed, "Craig said he was just going to check on you. You were in there for an hour!"

The Doctor opened his mouth to argue with her when the door to the house opened and a woman, the one in the picture on Craig's fridge, stepped in.

"Oh!" she gasped, seeing them, "Hello?"

"Hello!" the Doctor grinned.

"Amy Pond," Amy gestured at herself then him, "The Doctor," she really just wanted this to be quick, she had food waiting for her in the kitchen, "And you're Sophie."

"Sophie!" the Doctor cheered, seeming about to give her a Gallic air kiss when he thought better of it, "From the fridge, yes, hello Sophie."

"You must be here for Craig," Amy reasoned, "Come on, he's in the kitchen. Where I should be, with my food."

The Doctor laughed, patting Amy on the shoulder as he turned her to head into the kitchen, where Craig was still on the phone with someone.

"No, Dom's in Malta," he was saying on the line, "There's nobody around. Hang on a sec," he covered the phone to look at the Doctor, "We've got a match today, pub league, we're one down if you fancy it?"

"Pub league?" the Doctor frowned and looked at Amy, "A drinking competition?"

She hummed, swallowing a mouthful of eggs, "Football," she managed to get out, taking another forkful of the breakfast.

"Oh, football. Football! Yes, blokes play football! I'm good at football, I think."

"You've saved my life!" Craig smiled, lifting the phone again, "I've got somebody. Alright, see you down there. Hey, Soph," he greeted.

"Hey," Sophie glanced between Craig and the Doctor as the man rummaged through the fridge, "I thought I'd come early and meet your new flatmates."

"Do you play, Sophie?" the Doctor asked, drinking from the carton.

"Oh, gross," Amy grimaced at the sight, "Doctor, use a cup like a normal person."

"No, Soph just stands on the sidelines, she's my mascot," Craig answered for the woman.

"I'm your mascot?" Sophie frowned at him, " _Mascot_?!"

Amy snorted as she got up and patted Craig on the shoulder for that flub when she passed him to clean her dish off in the sink.

"Well, not my mascot," Craig tried to salvage it, "It's a football match, I can't take a date."

"I didn't say I was your date."

"Neither did I."

"Right then, Doctor," Amy moved back, now that the silence that had settled grew even more awkward, "Think you might need to get changed for the match," she looked at Craig, "Any spare uniforms?"

"Yeah," Craig nodded his head as he cleared his throat, "The spare kit's just in the bottom drawer."

"Gotcha," Amy turned the Doctor and half pushed him towards the bedroom.

The Doctor, however, spun around almost the moment the door was shut behind them to open it and peek back out at Sophie, "You unlocked the door. How did you do that? Those are your keys, you must have left them last time you came here."

"Yeah, but I..." Sophie frowned, "How do you know these are my keys?"

"I've been holding them!" Craig shouted when the Doctor opened his mouth to answer.

"I have got another set."

"You've got two sets of keys to someone else's house?" the Doctor repeated.

"Yeah."

"I see! You must like it here too," he gave them a final smile before he closed the bedroom door once more to see Amy standing there with the spare uniform in her hand, which she tossed to him. He waited till she turned around to start putting it on, tapping the earpiece as he went, "Right, Ambassador, I'm sure you heard, but Amy and I are going out."

"Why do I have to go?" Amy asked, "YOU'RE the one playing on the team, not me."

"Because if he leaves you there, you'll probably go up to the second floor by yourself and get caught," the Ambassador remarked, "Which would just make everything worse."

"I will not!" Amy insisted. The Doctor shot her a look and she huffed, not even needing to see it to know he was making it, "Alright, fine, maybe I would."

"It's probably for the best," the Ambassador added, "You have to leave the house at some point during the day."

"Yes," the Doctor agreed, "If we hang about the house all the time, him upstairs might get suspicious, notice us."

"And this led to accepting a spot on a football team? You could have gone to the grocers or a walk about."

"The opportunity came up, and it was a help to Craig," the Doctor shrugged, "I'm decent, Pond," he called to her so she could turn around now that he was clothed, "Now football's the one with the sticks, isn't it?"

"I grant I'm not overly familiar with human sports, but even I can work out it involves a ball you need to move with your foot, not sticks."

"She's right," Amy sighed, "Alright, time for a cheat sheet of football…"

~8~

"What are you actually called, what's your proper name?" Craig asked as the small group of four made their way across a park, heading for the football match.

"Just call me the Doctor," he smiled.

"Yeah," Sophie laughed, "Doctor Pond."

"What?" the Doctor looked over at her.

"Craig told me you're siblings," Sophie explained, "If she's Amy Pond, then you're Dr. Pond aren't you?"

"Yes," Amy said quickly, with a wicked grin on her face, "Yes, this is my brother, Dr. Pond."

The Doctor pouted a bit at that, muttering something about 'Smith' under his breath.

"Alright, Craig!" one of the footballers called as he jogged over to them, greeting Craig and Sophie, "Soph. Alright, mates."

"Hello," the Doctor smiled, exaggeratedly looking at the man's face when he held out a hand to shake his, "I'm Craig's new flatmate. The Doctor."

"Pond," Amy added, siding in to shake the man's hand instead, "Dr. Pond. My brother. And I'm Amy. Hello."

"Hello," the man grinned, "Alright, Doctor. I'm Sean. Where are you strongest?"

"Arms," he answered promptly.

"He means position on the field," Amy whispered to him.

"Oh, not sure. The front? The side? Below?"

Amy just shook her head at him. She was tempted to say defense, but she knew how energetic the man could be and she was sure he'd end up surging forward and that would just be a mess.

"Are you any good though?" Sean asked.

The Doctor just plucked the football up into his hold and spun it around his finger, "Let's find out!" he grinned, dropping the ball and kicking it out onto the field.

Amy was honestly surprised to find out that the Doctor was actually pretty amazing at football. He was truly the MVP of the match, dominating the field, intercepting passes, making goals, and earning the cheers of the crowd. Though she noticed he took special care to avoid any contact with the other players, especially their skin, but the times he just couldn't avoid it, it was clear to her in how he tensed and his jaw clenched that he was feeling the effects of his bond with the Ambassador. The game was over fairly quickly though with the Doctor's help and soon enough they were all gathered around a bench as the team celebrated with a round of beers.

"You are so on the team!" Sean called out to the Doctor, "Next week we've got the Crown and Anchor, we'll annihilate them!"

"No violence," the Doctor nearly went nose to nose with Sean, serious, "Not while I'm around, not today, not ever. I'm the Doctor, the oncoming storm..."

"The match," Amy coughed beside him.

"And you meant beat them in a football match, didn't you?" the Doctor now realized.

"…yeah," Sean said slowly, eyeing him oddly.

"Lovely," he smiled, "What sort of time?" he glanced over when Craig opened a can of beer and it sprayed all over him to the laughs of the team around him. Only it KEPT happening, over and over as though on a loop. He looked to Amy quickly, seeing she appeared to have been caught in the loop as well this time. He hurriedly moved away, tapping the earpiece so he could hear the Ambassador, "Sadie?!"

"The Ambassador!" she huffed in his ear. He tended to cut the comms. one way so he couldn't hear her, not wanting to get distracted or start talking to her instead, which would just make him look madder than he was. She could contact him if it was an emergency, but she was relatively collected and waited for him to reach out first.

"Are you alright?"

"It's happening again," she told him, calmly though, "Worse, but I'm managing to hold the ship steady."

"What does the scanner say?"

"Level Nine. But I've gotten it down from 11 so getting back to stable."

"And the zigzag…"

"That's NOT what it's called!" she cut in, "Give me a mo!" he listened intently as the TARDIS shook and made grinding noises, but eventually it calmed down, "Alright, we're down to level 5 now."

He glanced over to see the loop seemed to have ended, "Alright, good."

"Good?" she scoffed, "How is this good? It means the effects are far more powerful and dangerous than we thought. Doctor, we need to work out what's causing this. The sooner we know, the better we'll be able to proceed with a plan and course of action."

"I don't know," he admitted, "But just hang on, I've got some rewiring to do and it should help me work it out."

The Ambassador could only sigh.

~8~

"Hold on, hold on," Amy called when someone knocked on the door of the bedroom. It was a challenge to make her way through the room with how much stuff was crammed in there and cluttered about, "Coming!" she finally managed to open the door to see Craig on the other side. She hurriedly moved herself into the crack of the door so he wouldn't be able to see the room or what the Doctor was building, "Craig! Hi. What's up?"

"Hey, um, listen," Craig began, delicately, not sure if he felt more or less comfortable talking to Amy about this than the Doctor, "Sophie's coming round tonight and I was wondering if you two could give us some space?"

"Sure, of course, yeah," Amy nodded.

"You won't even know we're here!" the Doctor called from behind them, just as another loud noise went off above them. Amy was sure she was the only one who could hear him mutter, "That's the idea," under his breath.

"Alright, bye!" Amy smiled, quickly shutting the door on Craig and pressing her back to it, watching the very odd looking machine he was making spin around.

"Yes, perfect!" the Doctor cheered, "What a beauty!"

"Boy and your toys," Amy sighed, shaking her head at him before moving to help him finish.

~8~

The Doctor winced as he shook his hand which was holding a screwdriver. He didn't want to disrupt Craig and Sophie as they sat on the sofa of the sitting room, but he really needed to know how to turn the screwdriver on and Amy was sleeping. She'd gotten very grouchy about how he'd torn apart the bed to help make his device to detect what was going on. So he'd rigged up a small cot for her and she was napping and if he woke her up he was sure she was going to either slap him or punch him and he did not want either. He thought he could finish rewiring the house from behind the sofa, but now he was realizing he'd been wrong.

He sighed, hearing a lag in the conversation and seeing it as a chance to ask his question quickly to get out of their hair, "Hello!" he popped up from behind the sofa, startling Craig and Sophie away from each other.

"What?" Craig gasped in shock.

"Whoops, sorry, don't worry, I wasn't listening, in a world of my own down there."

"I thought you and Amy were going out?"

"Just re-connecting all the electrics, it's a real mess. Where's the on-switch for this?" he held up his normal screwdriver.

"He really is on his way out," Craig insisted to Sophie.

"No, I don't mind, if you don't mind," she smiled at them.

"I don't mind," Craig spoke, though he was clearly upset, "Why would I mind?"

It was a fact that went unnoticed by Sophie and the Doctor though.

"Then stay, have a drink with us," Sophie offered the Doctor.

"What, do I have to stay now?" the Doctor looked at Craig for a sign, now wishing that he'd just woken up Amy to ask.

"Do you want to stay?" Craig sighed.

"I don't mind."

"Ok!" Sophie beamed.

"Great!" Craig groaned, this was going to be a long night.

A/N: Sorry this was posted so late, house training a new puppy is slow going and time consuming :/

For this chapter though, a very Ambassador-lite one, but I wanted to focus on the bond between Amy and the Doctor, to sort of reassure her that, for now, she still rates as important and a part of his life. I also wanted to use this as a time to show Amy's change in feelings for the Doctor even with Rory gone, give the Ambassador a moment to get a taste of what it's like for the Doctor to travel alone, and also to sort of have her be an observer of the Doctor on his own. It's going to lead to some interesting conversations for them later ;)

It's sort of one thing to BE there and interact with the Doctor, but now the Ambassador gets to sort of see him in action, without being able to interact with him, she'll observe a lot and notice more about him when she can't actually SEE him doing it :) And this time apart may be an opening to talk about something else too ;)

Some notes on reviews...

I always felt so bad for Vincent, he suffered so much and never thought his work was anything anyone else would enjoy, and now he's so beloved. It made me cry when the Doctor got to give him a glimpse of it :')

The Ambassador won't see her husband again :'( It was mentioned earlier that he died during the War :'( But as for River, we'll have to wait and see ;)

The Ambassador is slowly learning more and more about the Doctor yup :) A lot of it stems from how he sort of abandoned his own people and the stories she's heard about him with his human companions. But, like all things, stories aren't always the truth and she's going to slowly see him interact with all sorts and form her own opinion on him :)

I like the discussions they have too, it's going to be a big part of their developing relationship, because they both have these sort of preconceived notions about the other. The Doctor in her being his Alphega and sort of just wanting to jump into that without really KNOWING her, and Sadie with the rumors and stories she's heard of the mad Time Lord. They both get to learn from their talks :) This chapter, despite how Ambassador-lite it is, is actually going to be really important for her in her thoughts on the Doctor. Right now she's alone in the TARDIS, which is where he was after the war, and even though she knows he'll be coming back to the box, it's a taste of what he endured which will give her more insight, especially for when she meets the War Doctor in the 50th special ;)

There's definitely going to be moments to come where Sadie's thoughts go in that direction, where was this drive to save the planet for Gallifrey? While she understands his reasoning, a small part of her will always wonder if there was any way this mad, impossible man could have saved the planet instead of just destroy it (at least until the 50th ;)) The Silence will be interesting, SO interesting. Sadie always tries to hear out the other side, both sides, entirely, and they will have good points about the Doctor's antics and footprint through the Universe. She won't agree he should be killed, but she would probably agree he needs to step back and be quieter, less fearsome to some, less oncoming storm, less interfering. I'm glad you've enjoyed the story so far :)


	14. The Lodgers (Part Two)

The Lodgers (Part Two)

The Doctor was sitting in a chair, wires draped around his shoulders as he worked with them, more like fiddled with them, as he tried to ignore how uncomfortable the situation was. Craig and Sophie were sitting on the sofa, Craig looking up at the ceiling, while Sophie sat with a glass of wine in her hand. She seemed far more interested in having a conversation with the Doctor than Craig, but the Doctor could tell Craig wasn't pleased. He was starting to regret his decision to join them instead of continuing to wire the house.

"Cos life can seem pointless, Doctor," Sophie was saying, lost in thought, "Work, weekend, work, weekend. And there's six billion people on the planet doing pretty much the same."

"Six billion people?" he muttered to himself, "Watching you two at work, I'm starting to wonder where they all come from."

"What?" Sophie looked at him, "What do you mean by that?"

The Doctor didn't answer, only went with a different change of conversation, "So, the call center. That's no good? What do you really want to do?"

"Don't laugh. I only ever told Craig about it. I want to work looking after animals. Maybe abroad? I saw this orangutan sanctuary on telly."

"What's stopping you?"

"She can't," Craig finally spoke, the first words since the Doctor had sat down, "You need loads of qualifications."

"Yeah, true," Sophie sighed, glum, "Plus it's scary, everyone I know lives round here. Craig got offered a job in London, better money, didn't take it."

"What's wrong with staying here? I can't see the point of London."

"Well, perhaps that's you, then," the Doctor shrugged, "Perhaps you'll just have to stay here, secure and a little bit miserable until the day you drop. Better than trying and failing, eh?"

"You think I'd fail?" Sophie looked quite upset at that.

"Everybody's got dreams, Sophie, very few are going to achieve them, so why pretend?" he reached out and picked up a glass of wine that Sophie had poured for him earlier, taking a sip only to spit it right back into the glass with a grimace, "Perhaps, in the whole universe, a call center is where you should be?"

"Why are you saying that? That's horrible."

"Is it true?"

"Of course it's not true. I'm not staying in a call center all my life, I can do anything I want!" Sophie suddenly cut off when she noticed the Doctor smiling at her and realized what he'd done, getting her motivated to live out her dreams, "Oh! Yeah! Right!" she turned to Craig, "Oh, my God! Did you see what he just did?"

"No," Craig frowned, "What's happening? Are you going to live with monkeys now?"

"It's a big old world, Sophie," the Doctor added, "Work out what's really keeping you here, eh?"

"I don't know," she shrugged, "Dunno."

"Right, well, it's getting late, and we have work in the morning," Craig reminded Sophie.

"Right, yeah, I should get going," she nodded as she stood up, Craig moving to escort her to the door.

The Doctor looked around the room for a moment, his gaze drifting up to the stain in the corner of the ceiling. He tapped his fingers along the armrest of his chair before pushing himself up and heading to his room for the night. He slipped inside quietly, looking over at where Amy Pond was still sleeping as he had left her. He was pleased to see that the device he had been working on was still functioning in the middle of the room. Some people might call it large or ungainly, there were bits and pieces sticking out all over it, set in the middle of the bed frame with a broom and other spinning devices attached to it.

He smiled as he stepped closer to it, reaching out a finger to start the spinning motion to generate a shield that would allow him to scan for the man upstairs.

He ducked down, avoiding one of the spinning motions, and tapped the earpiece on his side, "Right. Everything alright, Ambassador?"

"So far so good," she replied to him, her voice a bit tense, though this time he didn't put her on speaker as Amy was still sleeping and he was trying to be considerate, "Had a bumpy ride, but we're stable as we can be at the mo."

"Good, good. Alright then, shield's up. Let's scan!"

A moment later she was back in his ear, "Are you getting anything?"

He looked over at where he had converted a digital clock, "Upstairs. No traces of high technology. Totally normal. No no, no, no, it _can't_ be!"

"What can't?"

"It's too normal."

"...it's _too_ normal? First of all, how is that even possible for anything to be TOO normal, and second of all, why is that a problem?"

"It's a problem because whatever is upstairs is masking itself and making it impossible to scan properly. I have no idea what's going on up there because it reads as Earth normal, which means no indication of an alien tech to help me identify our neighbor," he sighed and rubbed his head, "If I could just get a look in there...hold on," he reached out to stop the device spinning, "Use the data bank, get me the plans of this building, its history, the layout, everything. Meanwhile, I shall recruit a spy."

"Why do I get the feeling you're definition of a spy and mine are two very different things?"

The Doctor just chuckled and headed for the door.

~8~

"I am telling you, Doctor," Amy spoke quietly as she followed the Doctor down the hall towards Craig's room, the man with a tray of breakfast in his hands, "This is NOT normal. Yeah, maybe flatmates make each other breakfast, but not ones they just met two days ago!"

"Pish posh," the Doctor waved her concerns off, "I made you breakfast, didn't I, flatmate?"

"You know that's different," Amy rolled her eyes.

"If I can make breakfast for you, then I can make Craig breakfast too," he stuck his tongue out at her as they came to a stop outside Craig's door. He looked between the tray in his hands and the door twice before turning to Amy.

"What?"

He nodded at the door, earning another eyeroll, before she opened it for him. He beamed at her and entered the room, "Good morning, Craig, I've got breakfast, which is perfectly normal," he added pointedly to Amy, before he faced Craig once more, "Craig?" he stopped short, seeing Craig lying on the bed, almost unmoving, "Craig!" he quickly shoved the tray into Amy's hand and rushed over to the bed to check on him.

"Is he ok?" Amy frowned, setting the tray down on a desk as she joined him, "What's wrong with him?"

The Doctor moved to check him over, only to pull back when he reached out for the man, hesitating and looking around for something. Amy was just about to ask what he was looking for when he grabbed two socks that were lying on the floor near Craig's shoes, and pulled them onto his hands. Amy nearly grimaced at how he'd just put someone's used socks on his hands, when she realized WHY he'd done it when he finally got a hold of Craig's hand. He wouldn't have been able to touch him otherwise.

"Craig," he muttered, spotting a large streak of discolor running up his arm like a vein, "I told you not to touch it!" he huffed, "An unfamiliar and obviously poisonous substance. 'Oh, I know what would be really clever, I'll stick my hand in it!'"

"What, that's from the stain on the ceiling?" Amy frowned at the sight.

"Got it in one, Pond," the Doctor muttered, leaning in as close as he could to Craig's mouth as he could stand, before pulling back when he felt nothing, Craig wasn't breathing, "Come on, Craig, breathe!" he pulled back and grabbed his hands together, he pounded them down on Craig's chest. A moment later Craig gasped, breathing on his own, "Come on, Craig, breathe! Thems are healthy footballer's lungs! Pond, watch him!"

Before Amy could even respond, the Doctor was out the door, racing for the kitchen. He grabbed the teapot off the stove, having just made the tea. The water wasn't boiling hot any longer, but it was warm enough to do what he needed. He turned, grabbing teabags from their place and trying to grab hold of them. He quickly pulled one of the socks off his hand and shoved the teabags into the teapot.

"Right," he began to murmur to himself, "Reverse the enzyme decay. Excite the tannin molecules," he took off back to Craig's room, "How is he?" he called to Amy.

"Still breathing," she reported.

"Right, good, here we go," he moved his still clothed hand behind Craig's head so he could use his other hand to tip the teapot and have Craig drink the tea-infused liquid.

"I've got to go to work," Craig began to speak after a moment, wheezing slightly, his eyes still shut.

"On no account," the Doctor ordered, "You need rest."

"Doctor's orders," Amy agreed.

"One more," the Doctor tipped the pot once more.

"It's the planning meeting, it's important," Craig tried to argue, though it was weakened by a slight cough after he spoke.

" _You're_ important," he countered.

"You'll be just fine, Craig," Amy reassured him, "Won't he, Doctor?"

"Yes, yes," he nodded, "Lots of rest. And don't you worry about the planning meeting. Pond and I have got it covered."

Amy nodded, until his words registered, "What?"

~8~

The Doctor popped up from behind a desk when he heard Craig, of all people, speaking to a bloke named Michael, the head of the call center. The meeting had gone swimmingly, or at least that's what Amy had said after she'd stolen Craig's notes from him and sent him to sit in the corner while she gave the report to the other planners. She'd just read everything Craig had jotted down and a number of them had agreed it was a better plan to follow.

Afterwards he had gone along with taking over Craig's regular job at his desk, helping customers, especially after Amy had gotten into a bit of a verbal row with one of them. One person he was trying to help the most was Craig, who should NOT be there right now, he was supposed to be resting! He had hoped he'd just misheard, but no, Craig truly was there.

"I think that's not what my screen is telling me, Mr. Lang," he spoke into a headset he was wearing, trying to finish up the call so he could send Craig back home.

"What's he doing here?" Craig nearly groaned, "What are you doing here?"

"If that's your attitude, Mr. Lang, please take your custom elsewhere," he finally finished, blowing a raspberry into the headset just to get the final word in.

"No, no, no, that's one of my best clients!"

"Craig, how are you feeling?" the Doctor didn't seem perturbed, "Had some time to kill, I was curious, never worked in an office."

Amy snorted as she made her way over with a plate of biscuits, munching on one as she went, "You've never worked anywhere before."

The Doctor pointed at her like he was going to argue, before he just took the biscuits from her instead.

"You're insane!" Craig cried, gaping at him.

"Leave off the Doctor, I love the Doctor," Michael chuckled, "He and Miss Pond were brilliant in the planning meeting."

"You went to the planning meeting?!"

"Yes," the Doctor smiled, "Amy was your representative. We don't need Mr. Lang anymore. Rude Mr. Lang."

"Here you go," Sophie spoke as she joined them, giving the Doctor a cup of tea before she noticed Craig, "Hi, Craig. I went on the web, applied for a wildlife charity thing. They said I could always start as a volunteer straight away. Should I do it?"

"Yeah, great, yeah, good, go for it," Craig muttered to himself, sounding more in shock than like he was truly paying attention to what she was saying.

"Oi," Amy frowned at him, "You're supposed to be resting, Mister," she reached out to grab Craig by the shoulders, aboutfacing him, "Off you go. Bed. Now."

"Right, who next?" the Doctor spoke eagerly, typing on a keyboard as Craig dejectedly headed for the door, "Oh, yes, hello, Mr. Joergensen. Can you hold? I have to eat a biscuit."

"He's going to be ok, right?" Amy asked the Doctor quietly as Sophie and Michael walked off, "Should I head back with him?"

"He'll be just fine," the Doctor reassured her, putting a hand over the microphone of the headset, "And you are staying with me."

She rolled her eyes, "I'm not going to go peeking upstairs," she muttered. But she huffed when he gave her a look, "Fine, I would definitely be peeking upstairs."

"And that's why you're with me, Pond."

Amy just shook her head and wandered about, they still had a few more hours left to go.

~8~

"Well, the house is still standing," Amy muttered as she and the Doctor entered the house later that day. She had wanted to immediately go back after Craig left, but it seemed like everyone at the center wanted to talk to the Doctor about something or another and lord knew the man could talk himself into an earache all on his own.

The Doctor beamed when he saw a small cat come down the stairs, meowing at him, and quickly scooped it up into his arms, "Have you been upstairs? Yes?"

"Doctor, now isn't the time to adopt a pet," Amy huffed, "We need to figure out what's going on."

"That's exactly what I'm trying to do, Pond," he remarked, petting the cat and speaking to it, "You can do it. Show me what's up there? What's behind that door? Try to show me."

"Doctor, you're talking to _a cat_ ," Amy reminded him.

"Shhh!" he put a finger to his lips, before focusing on the cat as it meowed, "Ohh, that doesn't make sense! Ever see anyone go up there? Lots of people? Good, good."

"What kind of people?" Amy asked, before rubbing her head, "Great, now I'M talking to the cat."

"I'm getting to that," he told her, looking back down when the cat hissed, "People who never come back down. That's very bad…" he trailed off when he heard a door creak in the hall to see Craig, "Oh, hello."

"I can't take this anymore," Craig said in lieu of a greeting, "I want you to go! Both of you," he turned and stormed into the flat, forcing the Doctor and Amy to rush after him. He grabbed the bag of cash they'd given him and shoved it back into the Doctor's arms, "You can have this back an' all."

"Hold on, hold, on," Amy shook her head, "The Doctor I can understand, but what have _I_ done?"

"You're related to him," Craig gave her a look, "That's enough for me. I saw you both talking to a cat!"

"Lots of people talk to cats," the Doctor stated, tossing the bag away.

"Everybody loves you, you're better at football than me, and my job, and now Sophie's all 'Oh, monkeys, monkeys!'"

"What?" Amy looked utterly befuddled, "Monkeys, what?"

"And then..." Craig ignored her, pushing past them to the room he'd given them, throwing the door open to reveal the device the Doctor had built, "There's that!"

"It's art!" the Doctor defended, "A statement on modern society, 'Ooh, ain't modern society awful?'"

"It's rubbish is what it is," Amy muttered.

"Look, it's just not gonna work out," Craig told them, "You've been here three days, the three weirdest days of my life."

"Oh, come on," Amy scoffed, "They weren't that bad," and they weren't, if you looked at it on a scale of one to Doctor.

"Your days will get a lot weirder if we go," the Doctor defended.

"I thought it was good weird, but it's not, it's bad weird!" Craig huffed, "I can't do this anymore!"

"We can't leave this place. We're like you, we can't see the point of anywhere else. Madrid, hah, what a dump! We have to stay."

"No, you don't, you have to leave!"

"Look, Craig," Amy started, trying to defuse the situation, "We really can't just go. We um, we have nowhere else to go."

"I'm sorry, I am, but I need you to just get out."

The Doctor reached out and grabbed Craig by the lapels of his jacket when he tried to push them out, "Right! Only way! I'm going to show you something, but shh, really, shh! Oh, I am going to regret this. Ok, right...first, general background!"

"Doctor!" Amy cried out when the Doctor suddenly smacked his head to Craig's, both men stumbling back and gripping at their heads in more pain than a mere headbutt should have caused, "What did you do?"

"Mental transfer," the Doctor moaned, rubbing at his forehead.

Craig just gasped and pointed at him, "You're a..."

"Yes."

He pointed up, "From..."

"Shh!"

"You've got a TARDIS!"

"Shh!" this time it was Amy who hissed that, not wanting the 'man upstairs' to hear them.

The Doctor pointed at her and nodded, before gesturing to his face, "Eleventh! Right...ok, specific detail!" he grabbed Craig again and smashed their heads once more, sharing with him the exact reason they were there.

"You saw my ad in the paper shop window," Craig realized.

"Yes, with this right above it," he pulled the card the Ambassador had left them from his pocket to show him, "Which is odd, because Sadie hasn't written it yet."

"The Ambassador," Craig corrected almost instantly, his eyes widening a moment after he'd done that, "She's your…"

"Shhh!" the Doctor cut in, "Yes, and she's in my blue box. Time travel, it CAN happen."

"That's Amy Pond!" Craig pointed at her, as though he were only just meeting her now, "Your assistant."

"Oi, companion!" Amy huffed.

"And that's a scanner!" Craig turned his attention to the spinning device, "You used non-technological technology of Lammasteen."

The Doctor jolted forward to cover Craig's mouth with a hand, "Shut up! Argh! I am never, ever doing that ever ever again..." he tapped his earpiece, "Sadie!"

"The Ambassador!" she huffed over the device, now on speaker.

"Have you got those plans yet?"

"I had them hours ago but you put me on silent," she grumbled.

"I've worked some of it out with psychic help from a cat…"

"I was right, VERY different definitions of spy…"

"Yes, I know. Look, he's got a time engine in the flat upstairs. He's using innocent people to try and launch it. Whenever he does, they get burnt up, hence the stain..."

"From the ceiling?" Craig grimaced at the thought.

"Well done, Craig."

"And the TARDIS tries to throw itself into the Vortex as a result," the Ambassador sighed, "Doctor, about the second floor…"

"Hold on," Amy cut in, "The man upstairs is killing people?" she looked both disgusted and angry at that, "People are dying...people are dying...people are dying…"

The Doctor frowned, seeing Amy and Craig getting stuck in a time loop once more, "Sa…Ambassador?" he called into the earpiece.

"She's starting up again!" the Ambassador warned over a loud groan of the TARDIS.

"We need to stop him!" Amy finally finished as the loop ended.

"Doctor, if it only acts up when he tries to activate the engine…"

"Someone's up there," the Doctor realized.

Instantly the Doctor was out of the room, rushing with Craig and Amy after him to the main foyer.

"Doctor!" the Ambassador called.

"It'll be fine," the Doctor shouted back, heading for the stairs.

"No, Doctor…"

"Come on, come on," he muttered, "Someone's dying up there!"

"It's Sophie!" Craig gasped, causing the Doctor and Amy to look back to see him holding up Sophie's keys, "It's Sophie that's dying up there, it's Sophie!"

"Doctor, wait!" the Ambassador tried again.

He almost couldn't hear her over the sounds of the TARDIS grinding and Craig shouting, "What? Ambassador?"

"Doctor, there's no upstairs," she told him, "The plans, it's a one story building!"

"What?!" the Doctor looked between the down stairs and the door he and Craig were trying to push their way through.

"But we're at the upstairs," Amy argued, having overheard that.

The Doctor shook his head, grabbing the sonic and flashing it at the door to unlock it. Whoever was inside and targeting Sophie, he was going to reveal himself to them anyway, what did it matter if he showed the sonic anyway. He stopped short just a step into the room. It did not look like a flat past the normal-looking door, but a very advanced spaceship with a control panel in the center of it.

"…what?" Craig breathed.

"Doctor, what is this?" Amy asked as they slowly made their way in, looking around for Sophie.

"Oh, of course!" the Doctor realized, "The time engine isn't IN the flat, the time engine IS the flat! Someone's attempt to build a TARDIS."

"But that's impossible," the Ambassador spoke, "They're grown not built…"

"Someone clearly doesn't know that," Amy muttered.

"No," Craig shook his head, "There's always been an upstairs."

"Has there?" the Doctor countered, "Think about it!"

"Yes. No. I don't..."

"Perception filter," the Ambassador remarked.

The Doctor nodded, "It's more than a disguise. It tricks your memory."

Suddenly there was a scream, lines like lightning shooting out and pulling someone towards the control panel.

"Sophie!" Craig shouted, rushing to help her with Amy, the two reaching out to grab her arms, trying to pull her back from where the lightning was pulling her in, "Sophie! Oh, my God, Sophie!"

The Doctor raced forward to examine the panel, looking between it and Sophie, "Craig! It's controlling her. It's willing her to touch the activator."

"It's not going to have her!"

The Doctor crouched low, flashing the sonic across the panel, but he quickly stopped when Sophie screamed as she was forced to touch the panel, "Deadlock seal!"

"You've got to do something!" Craig cried out as he and Amy struggled to pull Sophie away from the panel.

But suddenly the device let her go and she collapsed into Craig's arms.

"What just happened?" Amy asked, helping Craig ease her down.

"Why's it let her go?" the Doctor stood and frowned at her.

"Doctor?" the Ambassador called, "What's wrong?"

"Nothing, so far," the Doctor looked around, trying to see what happened that caused Sophie to be freed. But all he saw was a dried up skeleton in the corner. He moved over to it, wanting to examine it more, when a hologram suddenly flickered in front of him, of an old man.

"You will help me," it said.

"Right! Stop! Crashed ship, let's see…hello, I'm Captain Troy Handsome of International Rescue."

"You've got to be kidding me," the Ambassador muttered in his ear.

But he ignored her, speaking to the hologram, "Please state the nature of your emergency."

"The ship has crashed," it reported, "The crew are dead. A pilot is required."

"You're the emergency crash program. A hologram. You've been luring people up here so you can try them out," he flicked the sonic on and flashed the hologram, changing it into a little girl, then a young man, and back to the old man.

"You will help me. You will help me. You will help me."

"Craig?" Sophie began to wake up, "Where am I?"

"Hush!" the Doctor called over, still focused on the hologram, "Human brains aren't strong enough, they just burn. You're stupid, aren't you? You just keep trying."

"17 people have been tried," the hologram said simply, "6,000,400,026 remain."

"Seriously, what is going on?" Sophie repeated as Craig helped her up.

"Pond," the Doctor snapped his finger and pointed at her.

Amy rolled her eyes, "Apparently the second floor is a space ship."

"Yes, one intent on slaughtering the population of this planet."

"It is NOT," the Ambassador nearly shouted in his ear, "It's a _program_ , it doesn't have an intention. It's not doing this maliciously, it doesn't have the capacity to understand what it's doing. It's numbers and calculations. It's a program, Doctor, so shut it down, but don't you dare make it out like it's intentionally trying to kill everyone for the sake of a slaughter."

Before the Doctor could respond to that, the hologram spoke again, "The correct pilot has now been found."

"Yes," the Doctor sighed, rubbing his head, "I was worried you'd say that."

"He means you, Doctor, doesn't he?" Amy hesitated to speak.

"He's the only pilot there," the Ambassador remarked.

The Doctor grunted as the same lines of lightning shot out of the control panel and reached for him, trying to drag him towards it.

"The correct pilot has been found," the hologram repeated, "The correct pilot has been found."

"What's going on?" the Ambassador called out.

"It's got the Doctor!" Amy shouted.

"It's pulling me in!" the Doctor struggled to keep himself back, "I'm the new pilot!"

"Could you do it? Could you fly the ship safely?"

"No," the Doctor shook his head, "I'm way too much for this ship. My hand touches that panel, the planet doesn't blow up, the whole solar system does," he let out another grunt, managing to hold his hand back from touching the panel, but it was a near thing, only inches of space.

"The correct pilot has been found."

"No..." the Doctor panted, "Worst choice ever, I promise you. Stop this!"

"The TARDIS isn't happy either," the Ambassador warned him, the grinding and angry noises getting louder over the earpiece.

"It doesn't want everyone," the Doctor tried to work it out, "Craig, it didn't want you!"

"I spoke to him and he said I couldn't help him!" Craig told him.

"Why not?" the Ambassador called.

"It didn't want Sophie before but now it does," the Doctor struggled to think it through, "What's changed?" he groaned when it hit him, "No! I gave her the idea of leaving! It's a machine that needs to leave, it wants people who want to escape! And you don't want to leave, Craig, you're Mr. Sofa Man. Craig, you can shut down the engine. Put your hand on the panel and concentrate on why you want to stay!"

"Craig, no!" Sophie gasped, trying to reach out to stop him, but Amy pulled her back.

"Will it work?" Craig asked.

"Yes!" he shouted.

"Are you sure?"

"Yes!"

"Is that a lie?"

"Of course, it's a lie!"

"It's good enough for me. Geronimo!" Craig slammed his hand down on the panel, which released the Doctor, but sent energy coursing through Craig as he screamed.

"Craig!" Sophie struggled in Amy's hold.

"Sophie, no!" Amy warned.

"Is it shutting down?" the Ambassador yelled, the grinding noise even louder.

The Doctor ignored her for the moment, rushing back to Craig's side, "Craig, what's keeping you here? Think about everything that makes you want to stay here! Why don't you want to leave?"

Craig winced at another round of pain, which had him shouting out, "Sophie! And I don't want to leave Sophie! I can't leave Sophie! I love Sophie!"

Sophie finally managed to pull herself out of Amy's hold, rushing over to Craig's side, "I love you, too, Craig, you idiot!" and slapping her hand down on the panel with his.

"Doctor?" Amy looked over at the panel which was starting to smoke, "Is it working?"

"I think so," he nodded.

"Honestly, do you mean that?" Craig was speaking to Sophie, neither of them seeming to notice the way the ship they were in had started to shake.

"Of course I mean it!" Sophie exclaimed, "Do you mean it?"

"I've always meant it. Seriously though, do you mean it?"

"Yes."

"But what about the monkeys?"

"Oh, my stars," the Ambassador huffed.

"Craig," the Doctor spoke with the same amount of exasperation, "The planet's about to burn! For God's sake, kiss the girl!"

"Kiss the girl!" Amy shouted, reaching out to touch both Craig and Sophie's shoulders and pushing them together.

Slowly, as the two kissed, they were able to lower their hands from the panel.

"Whatever you're doing, it's working," the Ambassador reported, "The TARDIS is calming, we're down to level 0…minus three! Yes!"

"Help me," the Doctor looked over at the hologram as it began to cycle through the images he'd seen before, "Help me. Help me. Help me. Help me. Help me. Help me. Help me. Help me. Help me. Help me. Help me."

"Alright, time to go," the Doctor tapped Craig on the shoulder to stop him.

"Did we switch it off?" Craig looked at him.

"Emergency shutdown, it's imploding, everybody out, out, out!"

They ran to the door as the hologram continued to repeat 'help me!', racing down the stairs and out of the house as the shaking grew worse. The Doctor pushed them all across the street for more safety, turning to watch as the perception filter dissipated, revealing the ship. But only a moment later it disappeared in the blink of an eye, the other neighbors walking around not even noticing.

"Look at them," Craig gaped, "Didn't they see that? The whole top floor just vanished!"

The Doctor merely smirked, "Perception filter. There never was a top floor."

"So is that it?" Amy asked, "Are we done? Can we leave now?"

The Doctor just chuckled and patted her shoulder.

~8~

The Doctor had only just stepped into the sitting room of Craig's house from the room he'd been renting, cleaning it all up and setting it back to rights as Amy had lectured him about. She had gotten to go back to the TARDIS the moment they heard the Ambassador setting the box down, but he had been stuck fixing the room first. He was just about to return the keys and leave when he spotted Craig and Sophie being quite cozy on the sofa, snogging really. He didn't want to interrupt, not when it had taken SO much doing to get them together in the first place. So he smiled to himself and placed the keys in the bowl on the side table, before heading for the door.

"Oi!" Craig called out, rushing over to him with Sophie and stopping him.

"What, you're trying to sneak off?" Sophie laughed.

"Yes, well, you were sort of...busy," the Doctor shrugged.

Craig turned and picked up the keys from the bowl, handing them back to the Doctor, making sure he dangled them so the Doctor could take them without needing to brush skin, "I want you to keep these. Thank you."

"Thank you," the Doctor smiled at them, "Cos I might pop back soon, have another little stay. Bring the Ambassador this time, oh you should meet her. She's lovely."

Craig chuckled at that, "No, you won't. I've been in your head, remember? But I still want you to keep them."

"Thank you, Craig."

"Thank you, Doctor."

"Sophie," he reached out to put a hand on her shoulder, avoiding a handshake or a hug, "Now then. 6,000,400,026 people in the world. That's the number to beat."

"Yeah," Sophie laughed and smiled.

He pulled away and pointed between them, turning to head out of the house and across the street where the TARDIS was ready and waiting, "Hello, hello!" he cheered as he entered the box, seeing only the Ambassador there, "Pond?"

"Resting," she told him, "Apparently the worst three nights rest of her life."

"Well, that's fine," he moved to the console and reached out to flick on a button, "Back in time?" he looked at her from where she'd set the programs.

"I need to write that message for the paper shop," she shrugged, "You'd never have found Craig if not for that note."

He snapped his fingers and pointed at her, "Good thinking," he glanced up when the TARDIS made an odd noise, "Oh, rectifier's playing up again...hold on," he moved below the control level, "You write the note and I'll change that will."

"And it was a red pen?" the Ambassador called down to him.

"Yep!" the Doctor called, fiddling around under the console, before heading back up, skipping a step or two in his joy at helping Craig and Sophie get together. He slowed through, the soft smile on his face falling when he saw the Ambassador writing the note, comparing it with the one he'd found for reference.

Her hands were shaking.

"You alright?" he asked as he approached, cautious and slow, not wanting to spook her as he turned to lean on the console near her but not too close, "I'm sorry it took so long to get the TARDIS sorted. It couldn't have been easy, being trapped in here like that."

"I'm fine," she muttered, focusing on the note, "The TARDIS wasn't so bad."

He waited till she'd finished writing before reaching out to cover one of her gloved hands, "Then why are you shaking?" he asked her softly.

She pulled her hand back and turned to face him, "You were very kind to Craig," she said instead of giving him an answer, "Helping him with Sophie the way you did."

He nodded, not sure what to say to that, if she expected him to say anything at all.

"Why are you so…attached to humans?" she asked him, "You've always favored them, if the rumors about you are true, which they appear to be. Why? It's like you would rather be among them than your own people."

It was something she couldn't help but think about, being alone in the TARDIS. How she was alone. Just her and the box. And she could start to understand why he took A companion with him, it was lonely in the old box. But why humans? Why not another Time Lord? She knew he took one or two over his time, but why not MORE?

Another small voice in the back of her mind, which she forced silent, reminded her she'd only gotten a brief taste of what it must have been like for him after the War, alone, wondering if this was it, no one else around to help you.

"I do," he said simply, "I did," he added after a moment, "Before…everything," he looked away and she knew he meant the war, "I would always prefer to be around them than any other Time Lord. They were so different, and their lives were so brief that there was an importance to not wasting time. They weren't stuffy, rule sticklers who wore terrible hats either."

While she knew that last one was, hopefully, a joke to lighten the mood, it didn't really do much. It was a tiny bit insulting to her, "You realize I'm one of those stuffy, rule sticklers, yes?"

"Yes, but you don't have a hat."

"Doctor."

He rubbed his head, "I just…I wanted something new and different and they helped me see there was more to the universe than just our people. It's all well and good to observe, but I wanted to LIVE."

"But during the war?" she shook her head, "You still chose everyone else but your people. The one time we truly needed everyone, you refused."

He let out a breath, it was no secret he hadn't had the best relationship with the leaders of his people, even with some of his people themselves, it was something he DID regret, that he waited so long before trying to help. He could say all he wanted about trying to make it safer for the rest of the Universe, to keep the war from reaching them. But was it? Had his efforts really amounted to that much? Hadn't he just wasted all that time and effort with others than helping his people?

"After the war," he spoke, for he had no true excuse, "After I thought I lost everything…I realized how much I missed it all. Even the awful hats."

The Ambassador looked away, "You never realize what you had until you lose it."

"Truer words," he gave her a sorrowful smile. He waited a moment longer before speaking again, "I lost so much, every chance I had to make amends, to do the things I always said I'd do tomorrow. I don't want others to feel that. Like with Craig, if I could help him not waste time with Sophie, help him get something that made him happy…it helps."

The Ambassador nodded slowly at that, time and loss were the best teachers. The Doctor didn't seem like he'd actually realized how important his people were to him till he'd lost them. She cleared her throat, "If it's all the same to you, I'm going to go sleep now too, I think. I haven't gotten a chance to since this started."

"Of course," he nodded.

The Ambassador moved up the small steps that led to the hall, pausing in the doorway, hesitating, before she turned to look back at him, "Doctor," she called, waiting till he looked over at her, "If we get separated again…don't put me on silent."

The Doctor blinked, flushing a bit at how he kept tapping the earpiece to keep her from speaking in his ear and distracting him, "Of course," he repeated, crossing his hearts.

She nodded and turned, heading back into the halls, following the winding ways to the room she'd been given on the TARDIS. She entered it quickly and rested her back against the door, sliding down it a moment later and curling her arms around her legs. She closed her eyes as she rested her chin on her knees, the Doctor's question about whether she was alright repeating in her head.

If she was honest with him, she would have said no.

But she couldn't be honest with him, because being THAT honest was truly terrifying to her.

The last thing she wanted to admit to him…was that she'd missed him.

A/N: I'm so sorry this wasn't posted yesterday. It was my orientation day at my new job, mostly showing me around and getting paperwork sorted, not too fun or exciting, but time consuming :/ And then my mom practically dragged me to the mall to find some new outfits for it all :/ Even less fun lol, my mom does not make a good shopping partner for me lol :)

As for this chapter, I don't think the Ambassador missed the Doctor in the sense that she likes him and missed him being with her, it's too soon for that, but more she just lost everything and had him and then was without him and the connection that's lingering between her and the Doctor is sort of tugging at her :( I can see why she didn't tell him that though, he'd probably take it as a small sign of something that isn't there yet :(

Some notes on reviews...

Ooh, tricky what to say. On the one hand, I SHOULD say yes, school is important, pay attention to it. But on the other hand, I'm also the same person who decided to memorize the states/capitols/countries during my macro-economics classes and preferred doing the crossword during my taxation class so who am I to talk right? ;) (still, school's important ;))

I cannot wait till the Doctor's Wife episode, you have no idea how excited I am to finally see what the TARDIS thinks of Sadie };)

We got a small look into Sadie's head. During her time in the TARDIS it was more an eye-opener to her for how it was like for the Doctor after the war and a new understanding of why he takes companions. But also a bit of a push to her to come to terms with the fact that the bond between them is still there despite her efforts to ward against it. We're going to see a sort of aftermath of these revelations in the next few episodes. She'll be a bit more observant and thoughtful and it will relate very much to this episode :) I mostly focused on the Doctor in these last two chapters because there's only so much Sadie can think on while alone in the TARDIS before it gets repetitive, so I summed it up nearer the end and will explore it more in the next two episodes :) As for the final sanction, the Doctor does talk to Sadie about it at the start of the Vincent and the Doctor episode, he's able to tell her about what happened and we start to see her thoughts on it. She is starting to understand why he did what he did, but a large part of her is also going to be thinking 'it's all well and good you saved the universe, but the cost was OUR people.' The knowledge that all the children burned to death, that no one else was saved, it's going to weigh on her. A part of her, though she doesn't realize it yet, is going to be tightly holding onto this non-forgiveness of the Doctor's actions because it'll be a safety net of sorts. She'll think if she holds onto that 'I can't forgive him this' mentality, it'll keep her safe from developing more emotions for him that could tempt her to explore the bond she has with him. It's her way of keeping him at arms' length. So where other TLs forgave him, Sadie can't bring herself to for a few reasons ;)

I probably won't do a HP/DW crossover, though it would be interesting to see someone like Luna Lovegood interact with the Doctor ;) But you never know, I might change my mind one day ;)

I'm glad you like the slowburn :) It's going to take a while for her to process and then open herself up to the Doctor yup :(


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